My Chemical Romance
by Sasuke'sOneinAMillion
Summary: I was fifteen when i met him, and i kneed him in the balls. Now, im seventeen, but this time i fell in love with him. Full summary inside
1. Sasuke Uchiha

**My Chemical Romance**

**Full Summary: Sasuke Uchiha has always been sheltered from the gang violence that nearly destroyed his brothers' lives. But that didnt stop him from taking risk, whether he is scaling in the konoha montains or dreaming of a future as an atronaut, sasuke cant stop looking for the next thrill. Sakura haruno lives her life by three rules- boys lie to get their way, dont trust a boy when he says 'i love you', and never date a boy from 'the south side' of California. Her parents may be from Japan, but as a doctor's daughter, she has more 'north side' neighbors than the gang sharingan at her school. Then she meets sasuke at itachi's wedding,and suddenly, she's tempted to break all her rules.**

**Chapter 1: Sasuke Uchiha**

Being the youngest of three boys definitely has it advantages. I've watched my brothers get into some serious shit when they were back in highschool. I was never expected to follow in their footsteps. I get straight A's, i dont get into fights, and by age nine, i knew what i wanted to be when i grew up. I'm known as "The Prodigy" in my family- the one who's expected never to fuck up.

I guess my secret is out. If it wasnt for that damn snake, i wouldnt have fallen off a cliff, and my mama wouldn't be sitting in the hospital room continusly shooting me threatening stares that translate into _'You are in so much trouble.'_

Ends up i didnt have venom running through my body. One of the snake's fangs puncture a nerve in my hand, which is why i felt numb. After i fell, carmen called her father in a panic. he picked us up and drove me to the hospital. Surviving the snake bite, has been the easy part. Getting lecture by mama has been torture.

During the fall down the face of the rocks, i scratched up my legs pretty bad. I should be grateful though, for finally being able to grab part of the rock that jutted out with my good hand, even though in the process i ripped my skin opened from palm to wrist and almost needed stiches. Almost.

Ma crosses her arms on her chest as she watches me adjst the hospital bed so im not lying down flat. "You scared the shit outta me, sasuke. Who told you to climb up a mountain without a safety harness?

"Nobody"

"It was stupid," She tells me, as if i didnt know that already.

"I know."

I looked over at my brother itachi, leaning against the window watching me. He's shaking his head, probably wondering how he got stuck with two younger brothers who were destined to do such reckless, stupid things. Dad died before i was born, so itachi has been the oldest male in our immediate family since he was six. Now he's twenty-two.

I've got to give itachi credit. He's always tried to keep us out of trouble. Sai was a lost cause from the start. Mama said sai was born kicking and screaming, and never stopped until he was a teenager. Then, all that pent up energy was used to start fights with anyone who was stupid enough to piss him off.

Itachi was twenty when my mom sent sai to live with him so itachi could straighten him out. Now sai is in the military and itachi is about to get married to Konan, the girl he's been dating since highschool. A nurse peeks her head in the room. "Mrs. Uchiha, we need you to sign a few papers."

The second my mom leaves the room, itachi steps towards me. "You are one lucky motherfucker," He says. "If i ever find out you free solo again, i'll personally kick your ass. Got it?"

"Itachi, it wasn't my fault."

"Oh, hell," He says, covering his face with his hand as if he is embarrassed by something. "You sound like sai."

"Im not sai." I say

"So dont act like him. Im getting married in two weeks. _Two_ weeks sasuke. The last thing i need is one of my brothers falling off a fucking cliff and killing himself."

"Technically it I didnt fall, i slipped," I tell him. "And the odds of getting a snake bite on an ascent is like-"

"Give me a break," He says cutting me off. "I dont need no damn statistics, sasuke. I need my brother at my wedding."

About and hour and a half later, the doc says that i can go home, when we get there itachi drags me into my room. "Geez itachi slow down damn." i say, he turns around and looks at me.

"Your not invincible sasuke,"

I sigh. "I thought we were through with this convo." i say, he glares at me. "I know, im not invincible." i say, getting up and about to walk out.

He pokes me in the chest and blocks my path. "you listen to me sasuke, and listen well, because i know all too well what was goin' through that stupid head of yours when you decided to climb that rock without safety gear. You like the rush, hell and even knowing you, you were sayin 'fuck you'to danger. Ive got one brother in the military, a bestfriend who's been six feet under for more than five years, and im not about to sit back while my baby brother throws his life away, and fucks with danger."

"You take life too seriously," i say moving past him. "Im not your baby brother anymore, itachi, and im not as innocent as you think, i'm almost sixteen. You know that girl carmen who's dad brought me here? She's not innocent either." I lean in and whispers with a smirk on my face. "Want to know how i know that?"

I cant help but crack a grin when i see itachi put his hands to his ears like earmuffs.

"Dont tell me," He says, "You're too fucking young, bro. I swear, if you get a girl pregnant you'll have more than just two bandage hands to deal with."


	2. Sakura Haruno

**Chapter 2: Sakura Haruno**

"I love you kiba."

There. I said it. I couldnt look into my boyfriend's deep, dark brown eyes as the words flowed seamlessly from my lips, because i'm also holding something back.

I figured saying _'I love you'_ as a conversation starter would be easier than saying _'I might be pregnant.' _It was cowardly not to look into his eyes and tell him everything, but saying those three words is start. I feel vulnerable than I've ever felt before.

I dont do vulnerability well.

I breath out slowly and gather up the courage to look up at my boyfriend of a year. We lost our virginity to each other a month ago when his parents went to japan to visit his grandparents.

I cant even think about it now as I focus on him. _'okay, I said I love you. Your turn to say it back, like you whispered in my ear the first time we made love. Then I'll tell you I missed my period this month and I'm freaking out. Then you'll tell me everything will be okay and that we'll deal with it together.'_

He's smiling. Well, kinda. The side of his mouth is quirked up, like he's amused. I wasn't going for amused. I was going for more like affection and adoration- signs that it was okay to tell him my secret. I look toward Lake Lowo, wishing we weren't outside and hoping nobody from our high school suddenly shows up. I wrap my arms around myself. It's not that warm in japan yet, and the wind off the lake is definitely making me shiver. Or maybe its my nerves.

"You dont have to say it back to me." I say to fill the silence, but that's a complete lie. I do expect kiba to say it back to me. I dont want to hear it just on special occasions and when we're making love.

The first time he said it was after the homecoming dance back in September. Then on New Year's Eve. And on Valentine's Day. And my birthday. So many nights I lie alone in my bed and think about how our love will last forever.

We don't have the same friends because we live on different sides of konoha, but that never mattered. We've made it work. After school, we usually go to my house and just...be with each other.

And now we might be having a baby. How is he going to take the news?

Today is the last day of our freshman year of high school before summer break. Kiba suggested we go to the beach after school when I told him I needed to talk to him.

It makes sense, really. The beach is our special place.

We had our first kiss on the beach last summer. He asked me to be his official girlfriend there the second week of school. We made snow angels on that same beach back in January when we had a snow day. We come here to share all our private secrets, like once he told me where gang members stashed guns around town, so the police wouldnt catch them carrying it. Kiba has always known guys who were heavily connected to sharingan.

He steps away from me, and immediately I get goose bumps as is my body knows something is up besides the wind coming off the lake. He combs his fingers through his brown spiky hair. Then sighs. Twice.

"I think we should see other people," He murmers.

I cock my head to the side, obviously I didnt hear him right. There are a few things a girlfriend is suppose to hear when she declares her love to her boyfriend. I can think of a few right off the bat right now, but _'I think we should see other people'_ isnt one of them.

I'm stunned. And I can't stop shaking as I think about being pregnant without him by my side, smiling and telling me everything will be okay.

"W-w-why?"

"You always said you'd never date a gang member, and I'm gonna be one." He says, as if its the simplest thing in the world.

"Of course I wont date a gang member," I blurt out. "Just two days ago you told me you'd never join a gang, kiba. It was right before we made love. Remember?"

He winces. "I said a lot of things I probably shouldn't have. And could you please not call it makin' love . . . every time you say it like that you make me feel like shit."

"What do you want me to call it?"

"Sex"

"Just sex, huh?"

He rolls his eyes, and I swear my stomach lurches in response.

"See, now you're makin' me feel like shit on purpose."

"I'm not doing anything on purpose."

He opens his mouth to say something, then must've thought about it, because he shuts it.

I scans his face, hoping he'll say 'just kidding! Of course I would pick you over the Sharingan, but he doesnt. My heart feels like someone is chipping away at it, piece by piece.

"We're just . . . so different."

"No we're not. We're _perfect_ together. We go to the same school, we have the best time together . . . we're both Japanese."

He laughs. "You dont even speak japanese, sakura. My parents and friends talk about you while your in the room, and you're clueless. You're not _really _Japanese."

Is he kidding me?

My parents were born in Japan, just like the rest of my ancestors. Nobody would mistake them for anything other than Japanese. Japanese is their first language. My parents came to the United States after they got married. After that, my dad went to medical school and did his residency at Chicago Memorial.

"The gang doesn't make you japanese, kiba. Dont make the gang more important than our relationship."

He kicks the sand up with his toe. _"Kazaritsukenaide kono mama no watashi de ikite yuku tama?"_

"I dont know what you said. Can you translate please?"

He holds his hands up in frustration. "Thats my point. To be honest, I've been hanging with the gang for a while now."

How can he say that? My stomach clenches, and I put a hand over it in a weak effort to protect my baby that might be growing inside me. I can't help tears from welling in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall, causing my vision to get blurry. Everything I thought I had with Kiba is blowing up in my face. I feel more alone than I ever have in my life.

"I cant believe this." I say in almost a whisper.

I should tell him my secret. Maybe it'll make him change his mind, knowing that we might have a baby. But if I'm not pregnant, am I just prolonging the inevitable?

"I just dont want you givin' me shit for being in a gang." He blurts out. "All of my friends joined."

I look down at my nails. I'd painted them last night and drew a red heart design I the middle pf each nail. One my thumbs, inside the little hearts, I put the initials KI-Kiba Inzuka. I thought he'd be flattered. Obviously I was delusional, I quickly hide my thumb in my fist.

"I'm sorry," He says, then rubs my shoulder like a parent consoling a child. "Don't cry. We can still, you know, be friends . . . friends with benefits even."

"I dont wanna be friends with benefits, kiba. I want to be your girlfriend." The entire contents of my lunch threaten to come up on me.

What is the gang giving him that I cant?

He stays silent as he kicks the sand again. I then realize that I cant fix this. He's looking at me differently, as if I'm just one of the other girls at school and not the girl of his dreams or the future mother of his children.

He pulls out his cell phone, and looks at it. It seems like he's got a text. "Can you make it home on your own?" He asked, replying to the message, his fingers move fast and furious as he continues texting.

I sigh. " I guess."

He looks up. "Cool." He leans down and kisses the corner of my mouth. "My friends thought you'd go all crazy on me. They thought you'd punch me or somethin'"

No theres a thought. But no, I cant punch him. Just when I call out to him, and beg him to come back to me. He turns around and jogs back to his car.

He picked the gang over me.

My breath hitches. I look out at the lake and feel like jumping in-to swim away and pretend this isn't happening. Desperation washes over me, like waves washing footprints off the shore, and I start to shake uncontrollably. My knees crumple to the sand, and I can feel my hot tears start welling up again. This time, I just let em' roll down my cheeks. I break down and cry while recalling every single moment Kiba and I spent together, and praying that my period is just late and i'm not really pregnant.

Pregnant at fifteen was never my plan.


	3. The Wedding Part I

**Chapter 3: The Wedding Part I**

**Sasuke's POV**

Two weeks after my showdown with the snake, I'm standing in my tuxedo at my brother's wedding. I never thought I'd see Itachi get married. Then again, I never thought I'd be back in the united states again. This time though, we're at a rented house on sheridan road in Winnetka. Its a less than fifteen mintues from the south side of california, where I used to live, but this feels like a whole new world.

"You nervous?" I ask itachi as I watch him attempt to adjust the bowtie so it sits straight.

"Nah, i'm good sasuke. Its just that this damn thing wont go on right," Itachi growls, then slides the strip of fabric from under his crisp white collar and whips it on the ground before running a hand through his hair. He sighs heavily, then glances at me. "How the hell did you get yours on without fail?"

I pulled out a piece of folded paper from the back pocket of my rented tuxedo pants, ignoring the pain from my still raw hand. "I printed the instructions from the internet." I proudly, as I hold up the piece of paper.

"Your such a geek, sasuke." our brother sai chimes in as he moves from the opposite side of the room and rips the instructions out of my hand.

Sai didnt have to worry about renting a tuxedo because he's wearing his dress uniform from the army. From the way he stands straigh and tall when we wears it, I know he's proud he's in the service instead of being in the gang he was in when we lived in california with me and ma.

"Here," Sai says as he picks up the tie and shoves it and the instructions into itachi's empty hand. "You dont want to keep that bride of yours waiting at the altar. She might decide to marry some white dude with an investment in portfolio instead."

"You trying to piss me off?" Itachi asks, shoving sai away when he laughs at the clear plastic container with the red rose boutonniere packed neatly inside.

Sai nods. "Definetly, I havent had a chance to give you shit since I was deployed nine months ago."

Itachi waves him off, and walks over to the window to look at the beach next to it.

"I can't do this." He says.

I step closer, hoping to get a hint that he's joking.

He's not.

I glance at the clock. "Umm itachi? You do realize that the weddin' is suppose to start in ten minutes dont you?" I ask.

"I'll handle this," Sai says, taking control. He braces his hand on itachi's shoulder.

"Did'ja cheat on konan?"

Itachi shakes his head.

"You in love with another chick?"

Another shake.

Sai leans away from itachi and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Then you're getting married. Look, I didnt get leave and fly all the way over to Cali for you to piss your pants and call it off. And besides, you love that chick and promised you'd marry her after you both graduated college. This is a done deal. No backin' out now."

"What'd you do itachi?" I ask, completley confused now. He sighs heavily. " I havent told her the news that we're moving back here at the end of the summer."

Our entire family lived in colorado for about three years now. Moving back to cali aint gonna fly with konan. "What do you mean you're moving back here?"

"its a long story. Konan's parents are handin' over custody of her and her sister to the state of california. She's twenty-one and can go on state fundin' for her care. That means she'll be pulled from Sunny Acres and moved back here. Konan doesnt know yet. She also doesnt know I got into Northwestern for grad school. I accepted."

"And you didnt tell her any of it? Man, you're screwed." Sai said. I glared.

"Not helping dude."

Itachi rubs then back of his head and winces. "I kinda never even told her I applied to Northwestern. She thinks i'm going to GHU after the wedding.

I know full well my brother's soon-to-be-wife doesnt want to move back to california.

I've heard her talk about her fear of coming back to the place where itachi got shot, and beat up within an inch of his life to get jumped out of the sharingan.

He's told her its safe now, since the gang broke off into different factions and the new head of the gang, Pein, is in jail. We've all assured konan that itachi doesnt have a target on his back, but she's skepitcal.

"Itachi, you got the rings?" Sai asks him.

Itachi pats his pockets. "Shit, I left em' in the room."

"I'll go get em'" I say, then head back to the makeshift dressing room.

"Hurry." I hear Itachi and Sai call out behind me.

I swing open the door to the dressing room and find I'm not alone. A girl about my age is in the room, looking out the window. Her white dress contrast with her honey-colored skin, and just the sight of her stops me in my tracks. She's smokin' hot, with her dark pink wavy hair, running down her back and a face that reminds me of an angel. She's obviously a guest at the wedding but i've never met her before. I'd definitely would've remembered.

I flash her a smile. _"Kon'nichiwa, watashi no name wa sasuke desu. Anata wa nanidesu ka?"_

She doesnt say anything.

I point to the door. _"Umm . . . Anata wa naze koko ni iru?"_ I tell her, but it's clear by the way she rolls her eyes that she doesnt really care.

"Dude, speak english," She says, "This isnt Japan."

Whoa. _On'nanoko_ with an attitude. "Sorry, I thought you were japanese."

"I'm american." She says, then holds up a very expensive phone. "And i'm on the phone. Its a private conversation. Do you mind?"

The side of my mouth quirks up. She might claim she's american, but I bet my left nut that she's got some Japanese blood running through her fiesty veins.

I pick up the rings and give her a smile. "Save a dance at the reception for me." She hangs up whoever she was talking with and sneers at me.

"Ugh, you're one of those guys who flirt and smile to get a girl, then they dump that poor girl on their ass when they least expect it."

"Oh, so you've heard of me," I say, then wink at her. "I'm was just kiddin'. Dont take life too seriously.

The angel get in my face, I can smell her minty breath as she talks. She does it to intimidate me, but all it does is fire me p. "How dare you tell me not ta take life too seriously! You dont even know me."

I dont usually mess around with girls with attitude. I've been around enough of em' to know that they're more trouble then they're worth. They've always intrigued me, though. I cant help it. I think its in the Uchiha blood to mess around with girls who most definitely dont wanna be messed with.

"Sasuke, you're holding up the ceremony." my ma calls loudly from the hall. She walks in, then raises her eyebrow at me standind close enough to the angel that if I bent down, for the slightest bit, I'd be kissing her.

"Whats going on here?" She demands, as if we were about to get it on and she got here just in time to break it up.

"Yeah, What _is_ goin' on?" I ask the girl, deliberately putting her on the spot.

She holds up her cell phone. "well I was in the middle of a very important phone call when he comes in and start hitting on me."

"Thats my son. And you are . . ." Ma says, her eyes narrowed into slits. Oh man, she is in interrogation mode. You dont want to meet ma when she's got her mind on getting information out of you.

"Sakura Haruno," the girl says with pride. "My dad was itachi' suregon." Not japanese my ass. I was right. was the one who took the bullet out of itachi's shoulder at the hospital when he got shot years ago. The doctor has been in contact with itachi ever since, keeping tabs on him.

Mom nods, then scans Sakura Haruno-the surgeon's daughter- from head to toe. "The wedding is about to start. Get moving Sasuke."

Before I turn around and walk out of the room, I give Sakura a completely arrogant and secret wink/nod that's sure to once again bring out the Japanese attitude in full force.

She flips me off. She doesnt do it to amuse me, but it does.

I cant wait for the reception. Like my two older brothers, I dont ever back down from a challende and sakura haruno is definitely not one who will surrender easily. By the end of the night I bet I could convince her to be my next girlfriend-well, at least until my flight back home in colorado.


	4. The Wedding Part II

**Chapter 4: The Wedding Part II**

**Sakura's POV**

Well, its been about two weeks since me and kiba broke up, the pain is still raw as it was when he left me on the beach. I never want to feel as desperate and devastated as I did that night. If hatred and bitchiness will protect me, i'll use it. Also, weeks after my bestfriend hinata took me to the drug store for a pregnancy test. Turns out, I really am pregnant. Fuck my life.

Well I watch as Sasuke follows his mom out of the room with his arrogant head held high. I was about to hang up with hinata when he popped into the room, I froze. For a brief second, I thought he was Kiba. They're both the same height, age, and physique.

When sasuke smiled at me I felt a flicker of attraction, panic swelled inside me. I cant let my guard down, and a guy like sasuke is as dangerous as kiba. I can tell by that smile. He looks innocent enough, but I know better. He might be able to fool other girls, but not me.

I hold my head high and walk back to the ceremony. The music starts, and I quickly grab the empty seat between my mom and my younger brother kasuki. Kasuki is slouched down in his chair, annoyed that mom and dad wont let him play his game. He has to sit here like all the other bored twelve year old boys at this wedding.

My parents and kasuki have no clue that kiba and I broke up. I didnt want to talk about it. My eyes wander to the front, where sasuke is standing next to the rest of the groomsmen. When our eyes meet for a split second, he winks while flashing me a killer smile. I look down, pretending to be suddenly very interested in a stray thread on the bottom of my dress. I feel nauseous.

Right when the bride was about to walk out, I feel last nights meal come up again. I ran out of the back entrance and went to the nearest bathroom. I threw up in there. About 15 minutes later im sitting with my mom and kasuki watching the wedding. As soon as the priest opens his prayer book to start the ceremony, I can't help but glance at sasuke. He's listening intently to the priest and suddenly has a serious, worried look on his face. I wonder why, until . . .

"You cant get married." Sasuke chimes in loudly.

More than a few gasp come from the crowd. Every guest is I shock.

Hell, this is getting good.

Itachi slaps his hand over his eyes. "You didnt," He says to sasuke.

Sasuke steps forward. "I just . . . Itachi, tell her. You cant start your marriage on a lie."

Konan, whose mouth has been wide open since sasuke spoke up, lifts her veil and furrows her perfectly plucked eyebrows.

"Tell me what?" She asks, she's turning whiter than her dress, if thats even possible.

"Its nothing." Itachi says. "We'll talk later baby. Its not a big deal."

"Dont baby me, Itachi." His bride snaps.

"Ooo; I think she's gonna deck em'" Kasuki murmurs, amused.

The bride isnt buying it. Maybe they're about to come to the realization that happily-ever-after doesnt exist. "Its a big enough deal for your brother to stop the wedding," Konan argues.

"This is ridiculous." Itachi growls. He mumbles something incoherent to the best man, who seems more amused than shocked.

I feel a sisterhood bond with konan, even if she isnt aware of it.

Itachi's mom, sitting in the front row, has her head bent as if she's watching an ant on the ground and its the most interesting thing she's ever seen. I think I just saw here crossing herself. When she looks up again, she's got daggers in her eyes as she glares at itachi and sasuke.

With no way out of this conversation, itachi says. "We're movin' back here."

Konan blinks a few times. She cocks her head to the side as if she didnt hear him right. "Here? As in California?"

All I can think of is _'oh itachi; your so clueless.'_ Looking around at the other guest watching this drama unfold, I notice a couple of girls two rows ahead of me not too upset by the chain of events.

Konan backs away from him. "And you didnt tell me because . . ."

"Because you were busy plannin' this weddin', and studyin' for finals, and to be honest, I didnt want you to start freaking out."

"OH, so my opinion doesnt matter? What about my sister?" She points to a girl in a wheelchair next to the maid of honor. " I'm not leaving her in colorado."

"Would you two like to take a break and discuss this privately?" the befuddled priest asks.

"No," Konan snaps. "i dont want to go anywhere with him."

"It is your wedding," the priest reminds her. "Umm . . ." He looks at his bible, as if that has the answers to help the couple mend their problems.

"Lets just get married and discuss this later,"Itachi tells her. "You'll agree once you hear me out."

"We're supposed to be a team and make decisions together, itachi. Lying is a deal-breaker."

Yes! She's finally getting it. He lied. Boys always lie. I want to scream _'Break it off with him while you still have the chance!'_ But I restrain myself.

"I didnt lie baby, I just delayed mentionin' it for a little while. This is not a deal-breaker."

She crosses her arms on her chest. "Maybe it is for me."

"Marry me, konan. 'Cause you know its gonna happen anyway. Your sister will be with us, I promise. This is about keeping us together."

He closes the distance between them. Without another word, he pulls her to him and kisses her with lips, a peek of tongue, and . . . I cant help but remember when kiba used to do that to me. I think I hear some breathless sighs coming from the guests. Nobody can take their eyes off that sensual kiss full of passion.

_Dont fall for it!_ I want to scream, but I can tell its no use. Her bridal bouquet fall to the floor, and she wraps her arms around his neck.

I glance at the girl behind me. The Omigod girl is all dreamy eyed as she watches the make out session. Oh give me a break, all boys are the same. They use their smile, and sweet talk to get you all jelly and shit. Fuck no! I should interrupt this right now. I look around, all the girls are like that . I cant imagine their minds racing, wondering if they'll have as much chemistry with their boyfriends/husbands one day. With that thought I glance at sasuke again.

He's looking right at me, and a shock wave runs through me. So what if we have chemistry. Chemistry doesnt miraculously turn bad boys into good ones.

"I'm mad at you for keeping something important from me," Konan says to itachi, although their conviction has definitely been compromised after that kiss.

"I know," Itachi says. "I promise I have no other secrets."

"But I do," She says. "As long as we're spilling secrets I might as well tell you mine." She looks down at her stomach and places her hand on her midsection. When she looks back up at him, her eyes are glassy. "Itachi, I'm pregnant."

My stomach clenches in response.


	5. The Wedding Part III

**Chapter 4: The Wedding Part III**

**Sasuke's POV**

When I objected to the wedding, I didnt know it would turn into a Uchiha Family Circus. I just wanted itachi to come clean to Konan.

Thats it.

I had no clue my soon-to-be sister in law is pregnant. Oh man, seeing our ma's face when Konan announced it was classic-her face turned bright red.

I'm glad its over, though. Konan said 'I do' and my brother said 'I do.' and she didnt toss the rings back at him, and konan is now konan uchiha.

My brother is going to be a father . . . man, I cant believe it. Neither can he. After the intial shock, he hasnt stopped smiling at one point he even knelt down and kissed her stomach over her dress.

I look across the room at everyone dancing on the moonlit dance floor having fun.

My mom comes up to me. She's still flushed, but I cant decide whether its from the shocking news she's gonna be a grandma, or the fact that my uncle actually got her to do some shots of tequila.

I've already danced with all my female cousins at least twice. And Konan's single friends who didnt bring a date. One girl was seriously on the prowl and grabbed my ass a few times while we were dancing. I think she's one of konan's sorority sisters. She has no clue i'm fifteen, because she asked me what fraternity I was in.

I look over at Sakura Haruno, the one person who's not having fun.

She's sitting at one of the tables by herself, checking her phone every five seconds. I swear this chick looks like she'd be happier taking a final exam than being at this wedding. I head over to her.

"You might want to try smilin' at some point tonight," I tell her. "It is a weddin', you know."

She looks up at me with big eyes I swear are made of green silk. Its dark out, but the lights make her eyes shine.

"Smilin' is overrated." She says.

"How would you know if you haven't tried it?" I take the chair next to her and straddle it. "Come on, I dare you."

"Go away."

She's bitter, and trying her hardest to have a shitty time tonight.

I fold my arms on the back of the chair. "Did you know smilin' reduces the level of stress hormones in her body like epinephrine and dopamine? Seriously, even a fake smile'll help. Try it."

"Don't you know what the fuck 'Go away' means?" She asks, I smile. She's shutting me out, I refuse to be ignored. I stand up and grab her arms, pulling her on the dance floor. I wrap my arms tightly around her waist and pull her into my chest. "What are you-" I pat her head. "Shhh, dont talk." I'm playing with her, and she knows it. She looks up at me, we're face-to-face now. Her deep emerald eyes, pouring into my onyx eyes. There's no mistaking the electricity pulsing through the air between us. If we got together, it would be really explosive . . . in a really good way. She's intimidating, which is sexy as hell. I dont get intimidated easily.

"See? The chemistry between us is blowing up baby. You and me, and do some amazing things." I say, and wiggle my eyebrows at her.

I expect her to smile.

Or laugh.

I dont expect her to knee me in my nuts and say "Fuck you."

Which is exactly what sakura haruno does.


	6. No Longer Vulnerable

**Chapter 4: No longer vulnerable**

**Sakura's POV**

I didnt mean to knee sasuke in the nuts.

Okay, so that's not entirely true. I meant to knee him where it counts. I just didnt mean it do it hard—in front of everyone, including the bride and groom. And my parents. And his mother. And everyone who just so happened to be on the dance floor.

While sasuke grabs his crotch and winces in pain, I walk away and head for the ladies room. Sprint is more like it. Maybe if I distance myself quickly, nobody will notice that Dr. Haruno's daughter is a complete mess. Fat chance, I know.

I lock myself in a stall, content to stay here forever if it means that I dont have to face the rest of the world for a while. After about five minutes of pretendin and wishin' I were a fictional character in one of kasuki's stupid video games, I think the coast is clear until . . . I hear the click of a woman's shoes and a knock on my stall door.

_Knock knock knock. _"Sakura, its your mother," She says, her knuckles rapping at the door. "Open up."

"What if I dont wanna?"

Her response is more knocking.

I open the door slowly. "Hi," forcing a smile.

"Dont hi me, young lady. You completely embarrassed me and your father out there."

"Sorry?" I shrugs and say dumbly.

"I'm not the one who needs an apology. What in God's name came over you, Sakura?"

"Nothing," If I told her, then she'd know about my secret. I cant tell her, not now when I'm trying to figure out what to do. "I just . . . it was an accident."

"An accident?" Mom asks, not convinced in the least. She takes a deep breath. "I dont know whats going on with you, but hurting people and embarrassing your family isnt the answer."

I know that. But I couldnt stand there while Sasuke's strong arms wrap around my waist. I wanted to lay my head on his chest and pretend he was my knight in shining armor willing to avenge my armor. But that was a fantasy. When he spoke to spoke to me in Japanese, it reminded me of kiba and the biggest mistake of my life. I have no knight, no honor.

"I suppose you want me to apologize?"

She nods. "Yes, I do. Sooner rather than later."

I watch as mom walks out of the room, leaving me alone. Its her way of making the apology my own decision, as if she's not forcing me to do it. I close the door again and lean my head back against the stall door.

I know i'm being irrational. All japanese boys aren't like kiba, just like all Japanese american girls aren't like me. Actually, most japanese girls I know speak japanese and have atleast a few other japanese neighbors. I dont. Maybe I judged sasuke harshly, but then again, I probably pegged him perfectly.

I sit for a long time, listenin' to the faint muic coming from the wedding. Every now and then I get stomach cramps that hurts like hell, but it slowly eases as I breathe in and out, controlled breaths.

_Enough sulking, Sakura. Get up and get a move one . . . literally and figuratively._, a voice inside my head instructs.

I stand up and head back to the party. As i'm walking and thinkin about how i'm, going to gather up the nerve to apologize to Sasuke, then go home and have the dreaded talk with my parents, I trip on something soft. I look down and realize I just tripped on clothes. Guy clothes . . . namely a tuxedo.

I look around and see two silhouettes kissing in the water.

Sasuke and Omigod girl. Her annoying moans and squeals echoes through the air. I can tell she's with sasuke because . . . well, everytime I glanced at him tonight, his image was etched in my brain. Even in shadow, I instinctively know its him.

I can't believe he can fool around with Omigod girl knowing that she's just a one night stand. I realize i'm angry with Kiba and transferring my emotions onto Sasuke, but in my defense, they're all too similar.

Evil thoughts are running through my mind, like snatching his clothes and throwing it to the nearest bush, and makin' a run for it. I shouldnt do that.

But then again . . .

Without really thinking it through for fear i'll lose my nerve, I snatch up sasuke's tuxedo, shirt, pants, boxers, and shoes. I take sasuke's wallet from his pocket and throw it in the sand. No used in having him think I stole his useless wallet.

I toss the clothes behind a rock and head back to the reception area. I wish I could see his face when he has to search, all naked, for his clothes. I left them where he can easily find them . . . in the light of day. He's gonna have to work for it in the moonlight.

Yes! For the first time in weeks, I feel empowered.

"Yo Sak," Kasuki says, walking from behind me. "Mom and dad have been looking for you. We're about to leave."

Mom and dad say their good-byes to practically everyone at the weddin'. I stand behind them and add my polite thanks to them, with a hint that i've stashed sasuke's tux where he might not find it.

"What were you doing on the beach?" Kasuki asks me as I get into dad's car.

"Apologizing to Sasuke," I lie. Obviously I didnt do that much damage to his lower region if he was fuckin around half an hour later.

Dad pulls out of the parking lot, down the winding driveway, past the house where the wedding was held, and then onto the small road leading away from a neighboring hotel the guests are probably staying at tonight. Kasuki, sitting beside me, is busy playing with some app on his phone.

Looking out the window, I see a naked Sasuke holding his wallet over his crotch while trying to sneak into the hotel. He freezes when we pass, probably hoping to be avoid.

But I notice him.

And he notices me.

With a genuine smile that hasn't crossed my face in forever, I roll down my window and give him a small private wave.

Instead of being embarrassed, he drops the wallet and salutes me with one hand, and waves back at me with the other.

Which means he's fully exposed.

_Dont look at anything but his face, Sakura. Whatever you do, dint give him the satisfaction of scanning down._

In the end, Sasuke Uchiha got the best of me. I couldn't help but look. His body is leaner and more ripped than Kiba's and seeing him in all his glory defintely showcases their differences.

"I'm glad you apologized to sasuke," Mom chimes in quietly when we're almost home.

"Mhm," I tell her.

Any tiny ounce of glee I might have fades as my stomach clenches again. And again. I feel like i'm gonna throw up. A dizziness washes over me, and I close my eyes until Dad pulls into our driveway.

Mom turns around and frowns when we're home. "Don't embarrass us like that again. You're not trash, so dont act like it."

I grab the handle and ease myself out the car. A sharp pain in my sides make me wince. "i know," I manage to say through clenched teeth.

"You know how to act like a lady," Mom says.

I just need to throw up, and i'll be fine. Kasuki has already bookied the bathroom when we enter into the house. I cant talk because i'm afraid i'll lose the entire contents of my stomach right here.

Mom sighs in frustration. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, young lady." She orders,

"Sorry mom," I force myself to say. "I'm just . . . not feeling good."

I walk upstairs, but I stop when my stomach clenches and I kneel over in pain. I suck in a breath, not being able to stand it. It feels like something is cutting me open inside.

"You okay?" Mom asks, as she comes up behind me. "Whats wrong, Sak?"

"I-I dont know." I look at her, and know I cant lie any longer. Especially when I feel a trickle of wetness run down my inner thigh. My heart is racing and I feel faint. Another shot of pain runs right through me.

My knees buckle, and I curl up in a fetal position at the top of the stairs because it hurts so bad.

"Raku!" My mom screams.

My dad is kneeling at my side in an instant. "Sak, honey, where's the pain?" he asks, just like a doctor would, but a hint of panic behind his words. He's a surgeon, but I bet he's not prepared for this.

I cant delay the truth anymore.

I dont look into either of their faces as I cry in a soft whisper. "I'm pregnant . . . and I think something's really wrong."

Now I see blood trickling down my leg.

They stared at me in shock, then dad switches back to doctor mode. "Lets get you to the hospital."

My parents help me get into the front seat while the pain increases with every second that passes. In the car on the way to the hospital, I glance at my dad. I've never seen him look this worried or sad. When I started hanging out with Kiba daily, he warned me to stay away from him. _That boy is nothing, but trouble,_ he's said one day when he came home to find us making out in the pool in our backyard. _I dont want you hanging around with him. He'll get you into trouble._ Mom agreed with him.

I thought they were judging Kiba just because he lived on the "south side" but I was wrong.

I look over at my dad. He's got a death grip on the steering wheel. And he's focused on the road.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." I say over and over again, as the pain gets sharper and sharper.

He sighs heavily. Still not makin' eye contact. "I know."

"Do you hate me?" I hold my breath, waiting for the answer.

"I'm disappointed in you, sakura." He says, calling me by my formal name he never uses unless he's really upset. He always call my 'Saku, or cherry blossom' never 'Sakura'. He doesnt say anything more than that.

"No matter what, we love you." Mom says, encouragingly from the backseat. "How did this happen? When? Where? We don't condone-"

"Honey not now," Dad tells her.

Mom stops her questions, but they still linger in the air.

At the hospital, Dad makes sure I get admitted immediately. They do all these blood test, and the specialist, Dr. Tsuande, orders an ultrasound, mom hold my hand. She doesnt say much. I think she's too scared and shocked to say anything, so she lets Dad and the other doctors do all the talking.

After orders a second ultrasound and i'm put on an IV, Mom sits on one side of my hospital bed, while dad sits on the other. The doctor is standing next to them with my test results in her hand.

"You have an ectopic pregnancy," She says, then explains why I need to have emergency surgery because they suspect my fallopian tube has started to rupture. Mom has her hand over her mouth as tears fall down her cheeks. Dad nods stiffly as he listens to Dr. Tsunade.

"Whats going to happen to my baby?" I ask in a panic.

Dr. Tsunade touches my shoulder and look me in the eye with sadness in her eyes. "There's no way to save the baby," She explains.

I start crying again. The second I realized that I was really and truly pregnant, I'd hoped the pregnancy wasnt real. Did my negative thoughts make my body reject the baby? Deep sorrow and a mountain of guilt that I know i'll carry around forever settle in my gut. Another pain hits and I grab my stomach.

As my parents sign the waivers, the reality of what's happening is making me shake.

"Will I still be able to have kids in the future?" I ask Dr. Tsunade before she leaves the room to prep for the surgery.

She nods. "One tube will be damaged but the other one is healthy. You should be able to conceive without too much trouble."

After the IV is in, and they're ready to wheel me into surgery. I look over at parents. I want to say something to them, but I know if I do i'll burst into sobs.

Mom gives me a small, forced smile. She's disappointed in me. Hell, I dont blame her.

Dad holds my hand until i'm wheeled into surgery. "We'll be right here waiting until you come out."

The operating room is cold and smells like canned air. I'm being hooked up to monitors and Dr. Tsunade tells me i'm gonna feel a little sleepy as they put something in my IV. As I fall into a deep slumber, I vow to forget Kiba, and all the pain he's caused me. And to forget my baby who never had a chance.

Sasuke Uchiha reminded me tonight that I'm still vulnerable. If I get emotionally unavailable, then I dont have to worry about ever getting hurt. When this nightmare is over, I'm going to be a different person . . . Sakura Haruno will no longer be vulnerable.


	7. Bringing up the past again

**Chapter 7: Going back to school**

_**Two years later . . . **_

**Sakura's POV**

Ugh, I couldnt sleep last night. It's the first day of my senior year and i'm so ready for it. I'm read to graduate, get out of california and start my life.

I take a shower, get dressed, then head downstairs for breakfast.

"Ooo, you look nice." Mom says, eyeing my short blue pencil skirt, with a black tank top, and blue chucks. "Here, I made som eggs for you and kasuki.

My brother walks into the kitchen, his blonde hair practically falling into hus eyes as he reads some gaming magazine. It's his first day of freshman year and he's wearing ripped jeans and a T-shirt that has seen better days. You'd think he'd atleast dress up for the occasion but no.

"Suki, you need a haircut," I say calling him by his nickname he hates. He glared at me.

"No, thanks," kasuki reponds absently as he read an article about some new combat game coming out with a digital graphics. I only know this because I glimpse the title of the article, which says. 'Combat Forces II-Stunning Digital Graphics!'

"Kasuki, you do realize that you're in highschool now, don't you?" He looks up innocently from a mouthful of eggs. "So?"

"So you should take care of your appearance, and not only take 5 minutes getting dress."

He sets his gaming magazine on the kitchen table. "I put on a shirt that didnt have holes in it. That should count for something."

"It says MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!"

He looks down at his shirt. "I know . . . cool, huh?"

I look at mom for some support in this.

"Everybody has their own definition of cool, Sakura." Mom says, I snort.

"Well, I dont wanna walk in school with a little freshman who walks around like a nerd and actually know to quathrom theory of whadda-whadda." I say, to be honest, I dont know what it means and could care less.

Kasuki gets up and walks towards me, he pulls on my tank top, showing my bra a little bit.

"Well I dont wanna walk in school with a slutty senior who knows how to do the horizontal tango all too well. We all know how that turned out, now dont we?" he says, eyeing my stomach.

Now that was just cold, I was only joking, and for the record I havent even had sex since kiba, and the, you know . . . baby. I try to forget that mistake and kasuki keeps bringing it up. I try to hold my tears back but I couldnt.

"Why? Why do you insist on bringing that up? Its awful enough I have to live with that mistake for practically the rest of my fucking life. Do you have to remind me every fucking argument we have? Huh? Do you want me to be miserable?" I ask, he stays quiet.

Mom, just sipping her coffee as if what kasuki just said didnt faze her, is that what she thought about me? That i'm just some cheap whore, just because of the clothes I wear? Hell, she bought me the shit in the first place.

I storm out of the house and call Hinata, my bestfriend since kindergarten. She answers on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Hinata, its sakura. Listen, can you give me a ride? Kasuki pissed me off. Again." I said, she was always there for me, to pick me up, from the ashes of shame and dust of my humiliation.

"Sure, be there in a few." And with that she hung up.

About 2 or three minutes later she pulls up in her red porche with her bag in the passenger seat. "Hey sak." She says, I looked at her and nodded before getting in, moving her bag and putting it in my lap.

Hinata looked at me. "So, what did kasuki do this time?" She asks, I looked back.

"Well, he mention, my stomach, and called me a slut and a whore basically, mom just sat there sipping her coffee like nothing happened. She is such a bitch, after I lost the baby she ignores me, looks at me different. And my dad, ugh, dont get me started, he glares at any boy that so much as looks at me. I hate them all." I say.

Nothing else was said after that, when we get to school we go straight to our lockers. At the end of junior year we got to pick any locker in the senior hallway for the next year, so hinata and I made sure our lockers were right next to eachother.

That was before she started dating Naruto. The two of them have been inseparable since the last day of school, when he showed up at her house with a dozen roses and a sing he'd written her. Lame, right?

I don't trust Naruto though. I know he likes hinata, but I also know a lot girls flirt with him, and he flirts back. In a moment of male weakness, he can crush hinata's trusting heart.

"Just an FYI," She says, wincing as if she's about to share some bad news. "Kiba's locker is right across from ours."

A wave of anxiety rushes through me. "Please tell me you're lying."

"I wish I was."

After we broke up, Kiba got in really deep with the Sharingan. I know he's been selling drugs and getting in fights a lot. Something happened last year to the guy who ran the gang and the sharingan presence in the south side of cali got broken up. I heard Kiba started hanging out with other gangs besides the sharingan. He's gotten meaner and tougher. I used to think he had a hard exterior but was sweet once you really got to know him. Kiba is anything, but sweet now.

Naruto walks down the hall, heading straight to us. When he gets there, he stand beside hinata, leaning against some kids locker. She turns her back and pretends to be interested in something in her locker.

"I cant believe you're still mad," He says, with a sigh.

Hinata shoves her books in her locker. "I'm not mad. You can go to college wherever you want, naruto. You dont have to get permission from me to apply out east."

He puts his hand on the small of her back and leans toward her, his blonde hair falling over his sky blue eyes. "Why wont you even look at Ivy League schools?"

"Because they're not in the Mideast," She tells him. "You want to be away from home, I dont."

Hinata isnt telling him the truth, but she's commited to stay near her home for college because her dad got diagnosed with cancer, her other brother, neji is married and living his life away from here with his wife tenten and his two kids, and her little sister, hanabi is disabled. So her life is as fucked up as mine. Her dad has gone through chemo and the doctors say he's in remission, but hinata doesnt want to be far away.

"What are you saying, that if I go to school out east its over between us?" Naruto asks.

"I dont know."

I decide to put my two cents in the discussion for reality check.

"You know the percentage of couples who stay together after high school is, like, less than five percent, you guys?"

"Thanks for having some faith in us, sakura." Naruto says sarcastically.

I shrug, "Dont mention me. Just being real. No need to have you guys living in Fantasy Land."

"Yea, and I guess you would know about that would you? Seeming how you practically had first hand experience right?" He asks, I narrowed my eyes, and glared. He glares back.

Hinata sighs. "Naruto, leave her alone. She's just protecting me."

Naruto shakes his head, frustrated. "Dammit, Hinata. When are gonna realize you dont need protection from me."

"Sakura is my bestfriend."

"And i'm supposed to be your boyfriend." Naruto walks away, with a bitter look plastered on his face.

Hinata leans her head against her locker. I know she's scared. She was scared of losing her dad, and hanabi. And she's scared of losing naruto. I know about being scared, which is why I tell it like it is. Yes, naruto might leave her for another girl. Or go to a college far away and forget how much he loves her. Thats reality.

Naruto might even think he's being sincere . . . but how long will that last?

"He hates me," I tell her.

"No, he doesnt." She turns to me. "He just thinks your overly cynical."

As soon as she says the word_ cynical__**,**_i hear an old familiar voice speaking in Japanese echoing from across the the hall. Kiba. Just hearing the deep rumble in his voice used to make me grin from ear to ear. Now his voice is like nails on a chalkboard.

I look at hinata. She touches my forearm sympathetically. "Ignore him," She advices.

Of course, i'll ignore him, just like I did for the past two years, he's changed way to much, and so have I. I pretend to scratch my chin with my shoulder as I peek across the hall at his locker. Kiba is talking to some guy who looks familiar . . .

Wait.

One.

Second.

No, it can't be.

Its Sasuke Uchiha, the guy whose clothes I hid when his brother got married years ago. The last time I saw him, he was naked. That was so long ago, I bet he doesnt even remember me. I remember him, though. He's the boy who reminded me that I was vulnerable. The night I met him I became cynical. I glance at him again.

Oh, no.

He's staring right at me.

**Forgot to add, I got the idea from chain reaction.! Awesome book! I don't own the book or naruto.! (unfortunately) Please Review.!**


	8. We Meet Again

**Thanks everybody for the reviews.! i thank, Hinata's Helper, LittleAngelFuFu, PinkyPinkyPinky, and Hypnotic Flames. I got the idea from Chain Reaction.! Love that book, but anyway please review. Hope ya like.! **

**Chapter 8: We meet again**

**Sasuke's POV**

Exotic green eyes. Wavy pink hair. And attitude a mile long. Older, but she's still got that unique 'angel with an edge' aura about her.

I'd know that girl anywhere. I could pick her out of a crowed of a thousand girls. She denied her Japanese blood, kneed me in the nuts, and dissed me all in the same night.

"Thats Sakura Haruno right?" I ask kiba, a friend of mine since grade school.

Kiba looks at her and nods. "Yep, thats her, how you know sak?"

"Had a little run-in with her a couple years back at my brother's weddin'"

No need to go into detail about how she hid my clothes and left me to fend off the overly aggressive girl I'd been skinny-dipping with night.

"Whats her story?" I ask him.

He sighs, obvious he's got some history with her. "She's filthy rich and has a body made for fuckin' around." He says shrugging. "She's a real bitch though. Keep your ass far away from that whore if you want to be disease-free." He says loud enough so her and her little friend hears.

Sakura glares at him. He looks at her and smiles. I look at her, and she looks at me, our eyes meet. Does she remember me? While kiba talks with a couple of guys I continue to stare at her, before she breaks eye contact and walks down the hallways.

I came to realize that she's in every one of my classes and sits infront of me in chemistry. In chemistry class my teacher, Kakashi takes one look at me and sighs.

"Ugh, another uchiha, yayy, my lucky day." he said, his words dripping with sarcasm. I smirked and nodded.

When he walked away I looked over at sakura. She makes I contact with me, but looks away.

"Remember me?" I ask, she looks at me and shakes her head, its obvious she's lying. "Come'on you met me at my douche' bag brother's wedding. You hid my clothes in a bush?" i say, she rolls her eyes.

Then looks away. When she looks back at me i arch my eyebrow prefectly and smirks. "I remember you okay? Now leave me alone." She says, she still has that fiesty attitude.

"Wareware wa, kotoshi no nokori no tame no pātonā ni naru no yodesu ka?"I asks, she looks at me dumbly and rolls her eyes.

"Dont speak japanese around me, i dont understand it. What did you say?" She asks, i smile. "I asks if we are gonna be partners for the rest of the year." i say, she shrugs and turn around.

Kiba walks up to me, and i see sakura tense. yep, they defintely got some history. "Hey Sasuke.!Me and this chick named karin is gonna be at this party wanna come with?" He asks, i shrug.

"Dont know, i hafta meet naruto with something." i say, i can tell sakura is waiting for kiba to leave. Kiba shrugs. "Alright, well call me lata." And with he leaves. Me and sakura didnt talk much after that.

Afterschool i catch sakura talking to naruto and his girlfriend, as im walking to my brother iatchi's car, I catch naruto's eye and he waves me over. Sakura's smile instantly faded and she walked off with that girl.

Naruto walked up to me. "Hay, long time no see sasuke." He said, he catches me looking at sakura's back side. "So you interested in sakura?" He snorts. "Good luck." He said. Now im interested.

"Why?" I asks, he shrugs. He's texting some girl names hinata.

"Hinata your girl?" I asks, he looks up and nods.

"Yea, since this summer," He says. "She doesnt trust. she thinks i'm gonna cheat on her or find someone else if we go to different colleges." He goes in his bag and pulls out a SNICKERS and muches on it. "I love her, you know. i cant even see myself with anyone else."

I roll my eyes, this is why i dont date. just fuck around. This is too much drama. "Does she know you're in it for the long haul?" i asks. He shrugs.

"Shit, sasuke i tell her all the time. Sakura's been putting negativity and doubts in her head ever since we started going out. Dont get me wrong . . . i think Sakura's cool, but she thinks we're all out to screw as many girls as possible,"

Well, i dont know about him, but thats my plan. I continue listening anyway though. "I wish she had a boyfriend so she'd loosen up."

Oh hell, i know whats coming up. He nods in my direction. "Would you date her?"

Would I? i think sakura fiesty attitude mixed with her delicate vulnerability that intrigues me to no end. She's also crazy beautiful with a hot body that has inspired more than a few fantasies. But i'm afraid if i dated her, i might be able to let her go. i have to though. i have lon-term plans and it doesnt include a committed relationship.

"So, would you date her?" Naruto asks again.

"I'd go out with her. But im not looking for a committed relationship right now." i say truthfully.

He nods understandingly and just then sakura, this little kind playing with a very expensive phone, with bright green eyes, and hinata walks up. She's all puffy eyed, and sakura's hand is on the little boys head. he wacks it away.

"Hey Kasuki." Naruto says, not making eye contact with hinata. The kid, kasuki never looks up from his phone. He turns to sakura.

"So whore, have fun at school? Craving anything?" He asks, sakura gets really red. "Ugh, hinata naruto i'll see you guys later. Call me hinata." She says, and walks off.

I step up. " I'm here too ya know." I call after her, she looks back at me.

"I know." And with that she walks into a very expensive porche. As she drives off, i wonder why she gets so mad when that kid says that comment. I turn to naruto and he is tonguing down hinata. I walk away and drives to my apartment. i think my ma is home but i'm not sure. i have just enough time to freshen up, and go to work.

**So there you have it, uploading next chapter later.! hoped you liked it.! please review.!**


	9. Another Boring Day

**Chapter 9: Gaara Subaku **

**Sakura's POV**

Kasuki really hates me. He does, as I am driving home. I stop at a redlight on purpose. He looks at me.

"Why didnt you go? You could've made that light. Ugh, you fucking cocksucker." He says, leaning back in his seat.

I shake my head. "No, not until you tell me why you hate me so much." I say, he snorts, looks at his phone, and laughs a bit.

"You know, i'm not moving this god damn car until you tell me." I say. This time I want some answers and i'm gonna get em.

He looks at me, this time his eyes were all glassy.

"Because, how could you do that to yourself? Get yourself pregnant? I thought you were the sweet, innocent sakura I knew a few years back. The one who never cared what other people thought. the fun sakura, the sakura who I used to play with when we were kids, the one who used to play video games with me. Then you started dating kiba, and he changed you. You never had time for me anymore, you were more rude, you acted like the whole world was against you two. Just you guys. When kiba hit me that day, I thought you were gonna do something, instead you just yelled AT ME! So dont ask me why I hate you so much. Cause you're gonna get the same exact answer." He says, tears were streaming down his face now.

I felt like crying myself but just couldnt, I guess I used all my tears up. Instead I just look down at my hands.

"I promise . . ." I trail off and look up at him. Our emerald eyes meet. "That I will get us back to the way we was, just dont bring up Kiba and . . . the baby okay?" I asks, he smiles and nods. I smile and drive off.

When we get home, mom and dad arent here. I looked at kasuki and he held up his hands in defense.

"Hey, just because I said I wanted to be like old times, doesnt mean you're gonna be on my dick 24/7 right?" He says, I scowl and nod.

He turned and went upstairs. "Hmm, what to do, what to do." I mumble as I am walking to the kitchen. I decide to fix me some waffles.

"Hey, Sakura.!" Kasuki yells from upstairs. "Yea?" I yell back. "Can you get me some chocolate?" He asks, I sigh, and go into the cupboards and get 2 king size hershey bars. I decided not to make waffles.

"You want white chocolate or milk chocolate?" I asks, he laughs. "White is fine with me." He says, I grab the white chocolate bar and begin to walk upstairs.

As I walk into his room, I see that he is playing his stupid game. "Here you go." I say, completely flustered. He nods and mutter a 'Thank You' I nod and looks at him as he continues playing his game.

He turns his head and looks at me. "Why are you still here?" He asks. I was about to answer when the phone ranged. "Dont just stand there. Go answer it." He says.

I run downstairs and answer the phone. "Hello?" I ask, as I open the refrigerator and pour my some orange juice, the person on the other line snickers.

"Sakura, its Itachi, your dad asked me to come get you and kasuki and bring you guys to my house." He says, I spit out my juice.

"Why?" I asks, my voice clearly giving away that I am annoyed.

"Because they are coming home really late tonight. And he says he doesnt want you to . . . you know, misbehave." He says,

I have to laugh. "So he wants you and konan to babysit me, and kasuki while they're off doing whatever? And he doesnt trust me. Ugh, this is so him." I say, itachi laughs.

"Well tell kasuki and you get dress, i'll be there in five."And with that, he hung up.

I groaned. "Ugh, this is so fucking stupid. KASUKI! GET DRESS, ITACHI IS COMING TO TAKE US TO HIS HOUSE!" I yell, kasuki runs down the steps.

"What?" He asks, his eyes were wide, and his blonde sandy hair falls over his eyes.

"You heard me, get dress. Obviously they dont trust me." I says, he snorts.

"Cant really blame em." He mumbles, but I heard him. I glare at him.

"Sorry, old habits die hard ya'know?" He says as he walk up the stairs. I slowly follow him, no use of getting all dressed up for nothing.

When I get to my room, I just pick out some dark blue sweatpants, and I white tank top. I put three earring in my three holes, and put an earring in my navel, and proceed down the stairs. Kasuki is sitting on the couch listening to music on his phone. I grab my favorite book. And began to read it. About two minutes later a knock on the door, breaks me out of my trance.

Itachi opens the door with sasuke. I groan. Great, now I have to deal with him. "Hey sakura, I had to bring sasuke, is that alright?" He says, why wouldnt it be? Oh, right, he is just like kiba.

I shrug "Its not like it matters." I mumble and walk pass them, to their Monte Carlo' 47. I love working on cars. I like getting the black oil on my hands and shirt. It makes me appreciate things more.

I kick the tires. "Hmmm, itachi you need to bring it to Shikamaru's Auto Shop. It got a flat." I say, itachi rubs the back of his neck.

"Yea hehe, I was wondering if you can do it?" I look at him, and nods. "Bring it by tomorrow after school, i'll be at shika's alright?" He nods. And me and kasuki gets in the back.

Sasuke looks at me. "So why are you here again?" I snort. "If it were up to me, I would've been in my room, reading. But my parents dont trust me." and with that I end the conversation before he can ask why. Kasuki's phone rings.

"Hello?" I cant tell you is on the other line. He looks at me. "Yea she's here." Obviously whoever that is is talking about me. HE hands me the phone.

"Its Gaara. He wants to speak with you." He say, I smile real brightly.

"Gaara?" I asks when the phone is on my ear. He chuckles and I can only imagine him, in his room working on his stories.

"Hey, hows my favorite girl?" I laugh a little too loudly. Okay, so i'm nervous. Gaara has been my friend since like grade school. He had our intimate moments but that was before he told me he was gay.

"I'm fine. Living day by day I guess in my fucked up life. And you?"

"Well you know, i'm getting there. Kiba has been treating you well?" I bit my bottom lip. Of course I didnt tell him about kiba. We lost all contact with him three years ago. Me and kiba broke up two years ago.

This is what I didnt want to happen. Gaara bringing up kiba, I know it would lead to the miscarriage. And I cant tell him, not with all this people in the car. Fuck, how am I gonna get out of this?


	10. Staying With the Uchihas

Chapter 10: Staying with the uchihas

Sasuke's POV

As i hear sakura talking on the phone with whoever she's talking to, i cant help but listen intentively to what she's saying. "Uhh, Gaara, me and kiba broke up two years ago. Umm. . . I gotta go. Sorry." As she hung up i hear her taking a deep breath.

"Sakura, why you hung up on gaara?" I hear that kid ask. We pull into our driveway. It wasnt a big house, hell i dont even call it a house anymore. Itachi gets out and opens the door for sakura and that kid. I get out, and immediatly walk in, and into my room.

I slam the door shut and lay on my bed. I check my phone. I have one message. It was from karin, some girl i met today. She was alright i guess? I dont know, I cant get emotionally involved with girls. I just fuck em' and keep it moving.

"Sasuke! Get your butt out here!" I hear my mom yell. I sigh and walk out. I see sakura sitting on the couch checking her phone, and that little kid on his expensive phone. I look at mom. "What?" I guess I scared sakura because she flinches and looks wide eyed at me.

Mom puts her hands on her hips and pushes me down on the couch beside sakura. "Keep them company, me and itachi are going to go to the store with Konan and Ino." She says, and walks out the door. Ino, is sai's girlfriend. She isnt annoying, but she is just a perky white girl. I dont particulary like her.

Sakura laughs out loud and the little kid punches her thigh. "Sakura, shut up. I'm trying to watch the interview on Battlefield." She puts her hands up and sighs. "Sorry, geez you and your stupid games." Before he can even reply she puts her hand over his mouth.

"Dont. I'm sorry." She mumbles. He nods and press play on his phone. Me and Sakura makes eye contact. "What?" She asks, I smirk.

"Nothing, just looking." The little kid slams his phone shut and glances at me, then sakura. He smirks.

"Sakura, I wanna play a game." He says, sakura looks at him.

"What are you 7? No, ask him." Sakura nods at me. I look at the little kid.

"What game kid?" I asks, he smirks and looks at sakura.

"Truth or dare!" He yells, sakura snaps her head at him.

"No." Was her reply, I grab her shoulders.

"Oh, comeon it will be fun." She jerks her shoulders away.

"No! I'm not playing such a childish game."

I look at the kid. "Sorry kid, wanna play some soccer?"

He shrugs and goes outside. Leaving me and sakura alone. She looks at me. "Ugh, you're so annoying. What time does itachi get back?" She checks her watch. I shrug. "Maybe never, we probably just wants us to get together." I wink at her and she sneers.

"I dont date south siders." She says, hotly. I was a little taken aback.

"You dont?" I ask, she glares at me.

"Not anymore no." She mumbles, and before i can say anything else she gets up and walks outside. I follow her out. She is walking towards her brother. She whispers something to him and he glares at me. What the fuck did I do? He walks over to me. His emerald eyes reminds me of sakura.

"I dont like you." He whispers and walks away. I laugh. Not much happened after that. I can tell sakura is trying to ignore me. When itachi came he took them home. He walks back inside and glares at me, i laugh and raise an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You pissed them off."

I shrug. "So? I dont really like them either." I lie, in truth, i really like sakura. And her brother is just being a brother.

He steps up to me. "You better straighten up your act. I dont like this person right now." He says, I shrug. "Sorry." I say and walk into my room. Tomorrow is gonna be interesting, sakura is gonna be mine. I know it.

A/N: Sorry i havent been uploading, you know...SCHOOL! but anyway; I dont particulary like this chapter! But oh well, please review!


	11. Orange Club

**Chapter 11: School Part I**

**Sakura's POV**

"So after me and kasuki left sasuke's house. Mom and dad got mad at me! Just because kasuki fell and I laughed at him! Ugh, I fucking hate them!" I was telling Hinata and Naruto, at my locker. Hinata laughs. I cock my head to the side and pouts.

"Wha? Hinata, I'm in the middle of a crisis and you laugh? Help me!" I look at naruto, and he hold his hands up in surrender.

"Hey, this isnt my fight. See ya." He begans to walk away, but then turn back around. "Oh! Sakura! Are you coming with me and hinata and friends to the Orange Club?" He asks,

I shrug and nod. "I'll be there. When?" I asks. He thinks for a minute.

"Umm, this afternoon at 5?" I shrug and nods. He smiles brightly and runs off. I turn to hinata. "Well? You and Naruto made up?" I fold my arms over my chest. She nods.

"Yea, I guess so." She says. I roll my eyes. I am happy for her, i am but Naruto isnt that innocent. No guy is. I put my arm around her shoulder. "Come'on lets get to class." Enough said, we walked to our first period. Math. Didnt much happen in math.

But ALOT happened in Chemistry. Okay, Kakashi was going over the rules in class while passing out the papers. "Alright, since you guys are seniors now. I have a few expectations for you all. First one is No Phones. I will-" At that exact moment my phone vibrated, it was at the bottom of my purse, and my purse was on my desk so it was loud.

Everyone looked at me, I pretended to be interested in the window hiding my face. I hear this bitch, karin laugh. Kakashi walks up to me, shaking his head. "Go ahead answer it." I nod, and take it out. Only to have him snatch it away from me.

"Yes?" He looks at me. "Sakura its your bikini wax person or whatever. She's wondering if tomorrow at 6 will be good." My face heats up. This is embarrassing! I nod.

"6 is fine."

He nods, mumbles it into the phone and hangs up. "You will have dentention this afternoon. Can I get on with my lesson now?" He asks lazily.

Sighing in defeat, i nod. Sasuke turns around to me. "That was quite a show you put on there. I-"

"SASUKE! What are you doing? Ugh! Cant i get through one freaking lesson? DETENTION!" I laughs, while sasuke glares.

After class, i meet up with hinata and tell her i have detention and asks her to take kasuki home. While walking to detention i just so happens to pass Kiba. Oh no. I've been avoiding him for two years now. He glance lazily at me. "Sakura." Was his reply, I glare at him.

"Kiba, I have to go." I make a run for it. I run all the way to the cafeteria, where detention was held. Sasuke glances at me. I smile and sit in the only seat available, beside him. Not much happened in detention.

When we got out, it was about 4:30. "Shit! I have to be at the Orange Club in about 30 minutes!" I groan. Sasuke walks beside me.

"Wanna lift?" He asks, I knew he was gonna ask that, I laugh bitterly.

"No." And I start running off to the Orange CLub, I make it there in about 15 minutes. I see Naruto, Hinata, Gaara, (whos back), Kankuro, and a couple of other rich guys.

"Hey sak, miss me?" Gaara asks, getting up and squeezing the living daylights out of me. I nod, and take a seat beside Kankuro and Shikamaru. Soon our waiter walks up and I gag on my own spit. I stare in horror. It was Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" I asks. Naruto gets up and pound fist with him. kankuro looks at him. "You guys cousins?" He asks, I shake my head fiercly. "No, we're . . . uhh-"

"We're classmates." Sasuke says, Kankuro glares at him.

"So what do you study?" Temari asks.

"Umm I wanna be a-"

"Arent you supposed to be serving us?" Kankuro interupts, It takes all my willpower not to bang my head against the table. "Yo Kankuro. Didnt your mama ever tell you it is rude to interupt someone when talking?" Naruto steps him. "No its okay. So do you want Clean or Sparkling water?" He asks, I couldnt hold my laughter in anymore. I burst out laughing.


	12. Heated

Chapter 12: Heated

Sasuke's POV

"Do you want Clean or Sparkling water?" I asks, sakura burst into laughter and scares the shit outta me, I mean i never heard her laugh before, because she always have like a straight face. I glare at her, it is obvious she is laughing at me. I dont like being laughed at.

"What?" I asks, she covers her mouth with her hand and giggles behind it.

"Nothing, really its just that I realized that you have-" She starts laughing again. "A chicken's ass hair cut." She chokes out, the whole table laughs. And i walk away. Like fucking seriously? A chicken's ass? It is just naturally spiky. I tell my boss i'm not feelin goog and walk out. When i get home i go straight to my room and sleep.

"BA BA BA BOOM!-" gurgling. "BA BA BA BOOM BA BA-" more gurling. Then a something jumps on me. "Oof! What the hell?" I pull the covers off me, and its my nefew, Daku, he is two years old. Wait if he's here that mean Konan and Itachi is here.

"Hey Daku!" I lay on my back, letting him sit on my chest. "If you piss on me, you're outta here got it?" He laughs and claps his hands together.

"Okay, its time you learn my name. Say 'Sasuke'.

He looks at me, and drools. "WASUKE!" He yells. "WASUKE WASUKE WASUKE!"

I walk out, only to be jumped on by Konan. "Sasuke! How was work?" She asks, I shrug. "Alright I guess?"

Konan is one of the people, I can tolerate. She isnt really mean, or perky like ino. Or too ghetto, even though she's white. She is just one of those people who know when to shut up. Itachi walks in, and smiles at me. "Little bro!" He greets, with his arms open, wanting a hug, I glare at him.

"Im going out." I mumble and walk pass him. My phone vibrates. It is naruto.

"Hello?"

"Sasuke-teme."

"Dobe."

"Wanna hang out today? Just me and you? At Fryers? Im kinda bored." I think it over, I am kinda hungry.

"Fine, but you pay." I mumble and hang up, before walking down to Fryers. Naruto is waiting for me at one of the tables in the back. When he sees me, he smiles and waves. I nod before sitting infront of him. "So what chu wanna talk bout'? I asks, he shrugs. "Oh not much really, just wanted to tell you that Sakura didnt mean to laugh at your hair." He says, smiling.

"Yeah, I seriously doubt that, Sakura has been a bitch to mean from day 1." I say. He nods in understanding. "Well me and Hinata are going on a boat ride. I'll tell her to bring Sakura."

I shake my head. "SAkura won't go if she knows I'm gonna be therre," I tell him.

"Leave that up to me."

A kid that looks familiar, walks past our table. "Hey Kasuki.!" The kid turns around and I notice that its sakura's younger brother. He doesnt stay and talk, he just walks into the gaming section.

"Thats Kasuki Haruno, Sakura's brother." Naruto explains. I nod. "He's a freshman and is completely antisocial if you not into gaming."

"Gamin; huh?" I say.

"Yep."

I get up and wander into the game room after I finish eating and Naruto left.

Kasuki is playing some alien shooting game when i walk up to him. He's in the zone and doesn't look up until the game is over.

"We didnt get off on the right foot, the otha' day. You're sakura's brother right?" I say before he slips into another token in the slot.

He looks at me lazily, and then goes back to playing the game.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha." I tell him.

He starts shooting the aliens. "I know who you are. You're Itachi's brother."

"How'd you know?" I play dumb.

He shrugs. "Photographic memory, I guess."

Gamers love when you speak their language. "You ever play Call of Duty?"

"Ofcourse."

"They've got some sick grapics huh?" I had played the game, but the free trial end and there was no way I could afford the monthly fee. "Awesome game," I tell him.

When he finds out I've played COD, his entire face lits up. "I've been playing for two years," He says. "I'm designing my own shooting game with awesom graphis and levels like Call of Duty. Nobody really cares except gamers."

"I'll bet its cool," I definetely appreciates computer games.

"I'd show it to you . . ." He hesitates. "But you probably dont want to come to my house."

"Why not?"

"Because, I'm a geeky freshman and you're a senior who hangs with the tough kids and jocks. On top of that, I heard my sister telling her friends that you're a jerk."

Kiba, yells out. "Yo, Sasuke. We're goin' over to Shino's house to hang out. Come on, i'll give you a ride."

Kasuki stiffens as soon as Kiba's voice bellows through the air. The poor kid is scared shirtless of Kiba. Is it because of Sakura? Or did Kasuki and Kiba have a problem in the past/

"Im gonna stay here," I tell Kiba.

He laughs. "All right, but when you get bored playin' with the geek, call me."

Kasuki pretends not to hear the insult. We talk about online games versus traditional arcade games. It doesnt take long before Kasuki insists that i come to his house so that he can show me the new game he's developing.

When we get there I cant help but be impressed. the computer room has a jungle theme complete with a stuffed tiger in the corner.

While we're playing the game, it freezes. Kasuki takes the controller from me. "I need to fix that bug." he says, i try to help him but i'm not really into computer coding.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sakura asks when she walks in here. She looks so fucking sexy. She is wearing a tank top and short shorts. That alone is making me aroused.

"Playing video games with your brother."

"He's a freshman." she says.

"So? Sasuke's a gamer." Kasuki tells her proudly. "Us gamers gotta stick together."

Sakura sneers at me. "Sasuke is not a gamer, kasuki." She huffs in frustration and storms out the room.

"Be right back." I tell kasuki, then follow sakura. She's heading for the stairs, but i grab her elbow making her look at me. "what the hell is your problem?"

"I dont like you."

"You havent even given me a chance."

She laughs. "I dont need to. You're too cocky for your own good."

"Its a cover up for my extreme insecurity when it comes to you. Maybe if we kissed, it would prove whether we have chemistry or not."

She bits her lower lip and glances toward the bathroom door. She looks at me, and pulls me in.

She puts a pointer finger up. "Just one kiss?"

I nod. "You dont know what you're missin'."

She steps up to me, and closes the space between us and, before my brain has time to contemplate what's about to happen, Sakura grabs the back of my hair and pulls my head to hers so our lips are just barely touching.

Talk about an adrenaline rush.

"Do you kiss with just lips?" she whispers, then brushes her lips against mine. "Or do you spice it up a bit?" Her tongue darts between my lips in a slow, sensuous rhythm that send images of us together in a more intimate setting rushing throught my head.

I keep my hands at my sides, letting her control this, that means that i'm in control of myself, even if she's controlling the kiss. I know she's fucking with me, getting me all hot and bothered just to diss me later.

I've got this. In fact, i think she's the one losiing control.

"I definetely like to spice it up." I glide my tongue against hers. It's hot and wet and feels fucking incredible. A small moan escapes from her mouth that I swear sounds like, "Oh, Sasuke," and thats when I lose it. I grab her by her waist and pulls he into me. Causing my back to be against the wall.

Sakura is an adrenaline rush just being herself. I cant let this go on, so i pull back and cup her flushed cheek gently in my palm.

We just stare at her. "What are you doing?" she asks.

"Lookin' at you. We got major chemistry, dont we?"

She smiles brightly and I swear i wanna kiss those sweet, plumpy rose lips once more. "Nope." She doesnt break eye contact, probably wanting me to look away first. When i dont, she steps away and a huge, cocky grin crosses her face. She tsks and shakes her head. "Sorry, Sasuke, but you need a little practice. Your tongue action was a bit awkard. I mean, it wasnt _all_ that bad. You have potential, but obviously we're not compatible."

As i'm standing there stunned, I'm thinking that this girls is a witch and not an angel. She's definitely put a spell on me, and I'm practically panting, ready to beg her for a chance to do it again-now. That wasnt just fun, and my tongue action is anything but awkard. I've had fun with other girls. Lots of'em. Nobody has complained before.

When i looked into her eyes, and her eyes were locked on mine, there was somthing else. It was undeniable.

Sakura wipes her lips with the back of her hand. "Dont you dare tell anyone we kissed."

Why, because I'm a poor Japanese man, and after Kiba, the only guys who are worthy of her have fifty-dolloar bills they wave around like pieces of scrap paper.

She doesnt even wait for my reply. She just grabs me, and walks out the bathroom.

Kasuki walks into the hall way. He looks at us with a raised eyebrow and asks,"What were you guys doing?"

"Nothing." Sakura mumbles, not making eye contact with neither of us. I look at her and smirks.

"Your sister and I were just makin' out."


	13. Fox Lake

**Chapter 13: Fox Lake**

**Sakura's POV**

Somethings are better off forgotten. The fact that I kissed Sasuke and actually liked it is one of them. So it wasnt as bad as I made it out to be . . . and in reality I cant stop thinking about doing it again. But he doesnt need to know that. All week during school I've managed to avoid talking to him, which is great. Except it takes a lot of energy to avoid someone you cant help but notice.

Sunday morning I volunteer at the animal shelter near my house. When I get there, the manager, Shizune, tells me that a new dog named Miko came in this morning.

"She's blind." Shizune tells me, and my heart break a little. "Bulldog. Probably around nine or ten years old. Her elderly owner died, and nobody in the family could take the dog."

I've seen old dogs die in their cages at the shelter, because few people want to adopt a dog only to pay the higher medical cost older dogs usually have. On top if that, people dont want to adopt a dog that wont be around much longer.

"Where is she?" I ask.

Shizune points to the cages in the back. "Cage thirty-three. You can walk her, then start cleaning out the west side cages."

I immediately go to cage thirty-three. Miko is lying down in the corner with her head on the ground.

"Hey girl," I say as I unlock the cage.

She picks her head up when I pet her, and leans into my lap. I learn pretty quickly that Miko likes her tummy rubbed. I take her for a walk, leading her to the open grassy area in the back so she can sniff around.

I walk the other dogs, but the entire time, I'm thinking about Miko. I go back to her cage to give her tummy rubs five more times.

"I'll come back tomorrow ro check on Miko," I tell shizune during my break.

"You're not on the schedule."

"I know. But I noticed her bowl was full. I hand-fed her. If she doesnt eat tomorrow, I'll help her."

Shizune rolls her eyes. "She'll eat, Sakura. Healthy dogs dont starve themselves."

"Depressed ones do," I say back. "And she's depressed." I wanna say something like, _'Trust me; I know what depressed feels like'._ But couldnt bring myself to say it.

"Too bad we dont have the budget for a dog therapist, huh?"

"You've got me there." I tell her.

I spend the rest of the time handling the other dogs until I leave the shelter and head home for a shower.

When I pull into my driveway, Hinata is already waiting for me.

She stares at the mud stains on my jeans. "Are you full of doggie germs?"

"Yep."

She holds her hands up. "Ugh, Dont touch me. I'll wait outside while you take a shower. Hurry!"

We've had plans for a while to go on Naruto's boat at Fox Lake. It's not actually his boat, its his parents.

Twenty minutes later, I run out of the house all showered and ready to spend the rest of the day relaxing and tanning on the boat. I am wearing a white tank top and red plaid shorts with the button unbuttoned, with my pink bikini under it, with white flip flops.

"So. . . ." Hinata says as we're driving to Fox Lake, I look at her. "Want to elaborate on whats going on between you and Sasuke since 'the kiss'?"

I'd called Hinata after our kiss and told her everything. "Nothing, You know I just made out with Sauske to prove a point to myself. . . . and to him."

"And that point is . . ."

"That I can kiss a guy without getting emotionally involved."

She nods, with her eyes on the road. "Uh-huh, and how did that work out for ya?"

I look out the window. "I'm not as emotionally immune as I want to be. I'm just glad we're going out on the boat so I can clear my head. I dont want to get involved with anyone, Hinata. Especially someone like. . ."

"Like Kiba?" Hinata says, finishing my sentence.

"Yeah. I cant do that."

Hinata shrugs. "What if Sasuke is different, Sak? What if he likes you, and you like him, and its all good-"

"It doesnt work that way. You love Naruto, and Naruto loves you, but you guys still have problems." I cut in.

"I'm going on the boat today, arent I? Hey I'm trying to live in the moment instead of obessing about our inevitable future."

"And that's what you think I should do?"

After the forty-minute drive, she pulls into the gravel driveway. "I think you should be happy. You've been punishing yourself for two years, Sakura."

I shrug. "I dont want to get hurt again." I smile and give her a hug. "I love you wanting me to be happy, though."

Hinata was there after I lost the baby. She listened to me cry hour after hour, day after day, night after night, until I had no more tears left. When I needed her to talk, just to say anything to get my mind off of what had happened, she came through for me. She talked about everything and nothing until her throat was sore. And when I didnt want to talk, we sat silent for hours. She brought me ice cream and Hallmark sympathy cards with encouraging words on them and chocolate, and told me one day my heart would heal even if my body was scarred forever.

"Just try and have fun, okay?" We walk around Naruto's lake house and head for his private pier.

"Hey girls!" Naruto yells from the boat. "You're late."

"Sakura had to wash dog germs off her," Hinata tell him. For the first time in a week, Hinata wraps her arms around Naruto and gives him a kiss. I'm glad things are better between them, even though i admit I have my doubts.

I'm shock to see Sasuke sitting on the bow wearing nothing but a pair of long swin shorts, revealing naturally tanned washboard abs and a thin line of hair, which extends from his navel and disappears beneath his swim shorts, which ride low on his hips.

Whoa. I hate that I'm tempted to stare.

"Who invited you?" I ask.

"Obviously not you," he says.

"Give the guy a break," Naruto chimes in as he sits in the captain's chair.

"Dont think this is a date," I tell Sasuke quietly as he offers a hand to help me in the boat.

Sasuke furrows his brows. "Who said anythin' about a date? I didnt say anything about a date. Yo, Naruto, did you say anything about a date?"

"Actually, _you_ did. You said that you wanted to ask Sakura out, but were too much of a pussy to do it."

"Well, this is turning out to be an interesting afternoon Sasuke, nothing is going to happen between us. We kissed. It was awkward. It's over."

Sasuke smacks his lips together and winks. "Whatever you say, Watashi no gārufurendo"

"Whatever that means; quit calling me that."

"Uh-huh," he says dismissively.

Naruto starts the boat and soon we're flying over the water. Naruto and Hinata are by the wheel, and Sasuke and I are up front. I sit across from Sasuuke instead of next to him, mainly because I'm afraid I'll grab on to him for dear life when we jump the waves. I love boating, but I like going slow. Unfortunately Naruto doesnt have that same philosophy. I hold on to the side rail and pray we dont capsize.

I glance at Sasuke. He's looking down, fascinated, as he watches the water crash against the side of the boat. He's definitely enjoying the ride.

When we ride over the bumpy wake of anothe boat, I close my eyes and grip the rail tighter.

"Are you afraid?" Sasuke says over the roar of the engine. He's suddenly at my side. I can feel the heat of his body next to mine, and I'm tempted to reach out to him, and tell him to hold me. I open my eyes and look around as the scenery whizzes by.

I dont need a guy to make me feel secure. I can do it on my own. I grab the rail tighter. "I'm fine."

"You're lying. If you hold on to the rail any tighter you'll cut off the circulation in your fingers." He slides his body closer. "I want to hold you, Sakura. Will you let me?"


	14. Having Fun

I dont know what is with this girl. She's vulnerable and strong-willed at the same time. She makes me want to protect her, but at the same time she makes me wannt peel back the layers of that wall she put up.

"Let me hold you." I say again.

She shakes her head. "No."

I lean away from her. She's shutting me out.

"Is it because of Kiba? Or some other guy?"

"No, its because i dont wanna get serious with any guy."

I shrug. "So lets not be serious. Lets just have fun with eachother and see where it goes. I wont pressure you or give you attitude. Just the real me."

I know that she's considering it. At least she didnt shut me out right away.

"Woah! That was a rush, wasnt it?" Naruto yells after he anchors the boat. He tosses a raft in the water, then does a backflip off the side.

Hinata jumps in next. "Come on, you guys.!" She yells from the water. Sakura strips off her shorts and tank top, revealing a white bikini with red trim. I watch as she stands on the edge of the boat with the tips of her toes hanging over the side. I'm mesmerized, but trying not to show it.

"So. . . Sasuke?" She looks back at me without her usual animosity. I notice the playful challenge laced in her voice. "You said we should have fun. Are you brave enough to take the plunge?"


	15. Giving Chances

I only asked if he'd take the plunge in a moment of pure weakness.

I dont have long to analyze his physique when he stands over the side, extends his muscular arms over his head, and dives in the water like an Olympis swimmer. I peer over the side of the boat, waiting for him to emerge from the water. When he doesnt, i start freaking out.

"Where the hell is he?" I ask in panic.

"You lookin' for me?" He asks. His voice echoes from the opposite side of the boat.

Instinctively, my hand flies to my chest. "Dont do that again, Sasuke. You scared me half to death. I thought you'd drowned."

"Considering he's an all-state champion swimmer." Naruto says as he swims by Hinata. "I dont think you'd worry about that."

I arch an eyebrow. Sasuke, and all-state champion swimmer? I jump into the water feet first. Its not graceful, but i'm not an all-state champion swimmer-far from it.

"lets see how fast you are, uchiha. How about a race?" Naruto points to his left. "To the buoy and back. Girls get a head start."

Hinata and I take off. The boys wait, but not for long. Its not a fair race, beause Sasuke and Naruto pass us in less than five seconds. Naruto is on the swim team at our school and can definetely hold his own. Sasuke passes him easily though, way before they reach the buoy.

Sasuke and Naruto stop at the buoy and wait for me and hinata to catch up.

"Whats the hold up?" Naruto alls out.

Hinata attempts to splash him, but he's too far away. "Ugh, you guys are such show-offs.' She omplains. Sasuke shrugs. "Its the testosterone," Sasuke says, treading water with seemingly no effort.

I swim harder, but too quckily I'm out of breath and need a second to rest. "You girls have no stamina." Naruto says. "I'll show you stamina." Hinata call out doing a pretty good breast stroke back to the boat. Naruto follows close behind her, while Sasuke swims over to me.

"You okay?" Water drips from his lips, chin, and hair. He looks younger right now, kinda like he did when I first met him.

"I'm done racing, if that's what you mean," I tell him. I floar on my back to give my body a rest. Sasuke floats next to me, but grabs naruto's abandoned raft that has floated near us and we both hang on to it. We stay silent for a while, riding the wakes of other boats skimming arcoss the water while we stare up to the sky.

He points to one of the clouds,"Looks like a dog, doesnt it? See the ears and long tail?"

"Looks like a snake to me. It cant be a dog because it doesnt have legs."

He laughs. "Nobody's perfect."

"No, they're not. I learned that the hard way," I blurt out, then point to another cloud so he doesnt analyze my comment. "that one's shaped like a rainbow."

"No, thats a turtle," He says. "See its head pokin' out?"

"You're wrong. Thats not a head. Its the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," I counter in an irish accent, reaching up to the sk and tracing the rainbow and the pot of gold with the tip of my finger.

After about 5 minutes of analyzing clouds, I splash him. He cocks his head to the side and says boldly, "Just so you know, I retaliate."

I splash him again.

"I'm warning you. . ."

When I splash him the third time and say, 'Bring it,' he ducks under the water. I kick my feet, wondering what he'll do. "Sasuke, is you scare me or pull me under I'll kill you. I swear it. I was kidding when I said bring it."

I keep kicking. There's no sign of sasuke, not even a ripple in the water indicating he's near me. The suspense is driving me nuts. I wait, still kicking. I know he's around somewhere, unless he really is a fish and is breathing underwater in some magical underworld. He'll come up . . . but when?

He bursts out of the water right infront of me, making a big splash with his entire body. I let out a very lame yelp, which makes him laugh.

He swipes te water off his face with his hand. "You're not as brave as you think you are."

"I'm brave when guys arent creeping up on me."

"I dont creep."

"Stalk?"

"I dont do that either. When I like a girl, I'm not subtle. In third grade, I put a love letter in Amaya Mizori's desk."

"What happened? Did she read it?"

"Yeah, She laughed. And then she showed it to everyone on the playground. I got made fun of until my brother, Sai, threatened to kick anyone's ass who gave me shit. Nobody really bothered me after that. Sai is intimidating when he wants to be."

"Do you think he'll kick my ass if I gave you shit?"

"He's in the military, stationed overseas. I think you're safe."

"Good," I say. "then he wont mind if I do this." When i reach to dunk him, he goes down easily. When he comes back up, we're face-to-face. One wrong move, and we'll be kissing. Not that that is a bad thing.

My breathing gets harder and faster. I dont know it its because I've been in the lake too long, or because he reminds me so much of Kiba. Suddnely I cant see clearly and my head spins.

"Whoa," I say.

"Whats wrong?"

"I'm suddenly light headed." I reach out and frantically grab his arm for support.

"You okay? He asks, concern in his voice. His free arm reaches around my waist and hold me in a firm, protective grip. . . like a hero. Our legs touch under the water and it feels intimate even thought its not.

I quickly take my hand off his arm. "Sorry. I just . . . got dizzy for a second. I'm fine."

I thought Kiba was my hero, but he wasnt. Heroes are just made-up characters in fairy tales. They dont exist. At least in my universe they dont. Sasuke is close to being my hero, though.

He leads me back to the boat, staying by my side the entire time and asking periodically if i'm okay. Before we climb back up, he taps my arm. "Sak?"

"Yeah."

"Just so you know, i'm having a good time."

I nod and give him a small smile. "Me too, its a good thing we established this wasn't a date."

"I should warn you that I pla on spendin' the rest of the day changin' your mind," He says with a big grin on his face.


	16. Born Into The Sharingan

**Chapter 16: Born into the Sharingan**

**Sasuke's POV**

On monday morning, Sakura is waiting for me at my locker the second I get to school.

"What are the chance that I can convince you to get another job?" She asks me.

She says it as if I can find another job with a snap of my fingers.

"Whats the problem?"

"The problem is that I dont want my friends questioning how we know eachother or guessing that we have some unfinished business. . .because we dont."

"Why do you care about what other people think?"

"I just do," she says. "everyone knows i dont have a boyfriend or want a boyfriend."

I laugh. "So who was that guy you were with in the Orange club pool saturday night?"

"How you know about that? You know what? Doesnt even matter, Kankuro is just a friend." She crosses her arms over her chest.

I laugh. "So you go around bangin' guys who arent your boyfriend? Nice," I say. I know that was rude, but this girl is pushing my limit.

"I dont bang."

Kiba sticks his head between us. "Yes, Sakura, you do. I've got first-hand knowledge." He pats me on the chest with the back of his hand. "But she likes to call it makin' love. Aint that the truth bitch?"

"Lay off man," I tell Kiba in a stern voice, but as i look at his eyes and see they're completeky bloodshot I know he's wasted.

"Why should I lay off?" Kiba drapes his arm around Sakura and kisses her cheek mockingly. She doesnt move a muscle. "Sakura here, likes gettin' down and dirty, dont you baby?"

She winces. I push him away from her and say to him, "Come on man. Dont be a dobe."

In a flash, she runs down the hall and disappears. Kiba shrugs, "Ever since we broke up all she does is hang out with rich white dudes.

Every once in a while she needs to be reminded what it was like to be with a Japanese stud." Kiba says.

I take my books out of my locker and tomorrow head to class. "You should probably go home and sleep off whatever you're on." I dont wait for his reply, I just walk into my first period class. I dont see sakura until the end of the day, in chemistry. She's standing at the lab table across from me. "Whats's up?" I say.

She doesnt reply. I put my hand on her shoulder. "Kiba didnt mean what he said this mornin'."

She waves my hand away. "Yes he did. You guys are all alike. Leave me the fuck alone."

"Why does Sakura hate me so much?" I ask Naruto.

He laughs. "Sakura hates every guy who reminds her of Kiba. You're Japanese, he's Japanese. . . and worse, you're friends. Nuff' said."

"Sogoes for guys like that guy at the Orange club instead?"

"Kankuro?" I nod my head.

He shakes his head. "Dont ask me. I'm having enough troubles with my own relationship, the last thing I want to do is try to analyze someone else's." Naruto and I start getting our lab station ready while we wait for Kakashi's instructions. "You ever had a grilfriend?" he asks me.

"Not a serious one-nothing that lasted more than 6 days."

"a bunch of us are gonna watch you at soccer tryouts," Karin says to me as she leans across the lab table. "I hear you've got moves."

Sakura snorts.

After the final bell rings, Naruto and I head for the locker room. During tryoutsm the social divide is blurred. The coach puts me, Kiba, and Naruto on the same team and we dominate. The other side cant even score. Jason McKress, a white guy who thinks he;s better than everyone, happens to be our goalie, he pushes me from behind when I get close to our net to block the ball.

"What the fuck, McKress. If you haven't noticed, we're on the same team."

"Oops." He says sarcastically, then holds out his hand so anyone watching would think that he's about to help me up.

I whcack his hand away. "Were you born a dumbass?"

"Shut up uchiha. We might be on the same team, but we'll never be in the same league."

Naruto stand beside me. "McKress, get over yourself."

"Its cool," I tell Naruto, and ignore Miyruka the rest of practice.

After soccer practice, Kiba and I hang out at his house. He rolls his eyes when I insist on doing my homework before we go off and arty with some guys and Karin.

After Im done with my homework , Kiba and I get in his black SUV with tinted windows and ride around town.

"I've been hanging out with Sakura," I tell him, when we turn down Green Bay Road.

"I know."

"You got a problem with that?"

"What I got a problem with is you hangin' with Naruto and Kasuki-guys from the north. You belong with us, Sasuke. You're one of us."

"I'm not dissin you."

"Just know where your loyalties lie, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now lets go party at the beach, where the real Nihon no on'nanokos are."

I dont tell him that Sakura is a real Nihon no on'nanoko, and I cant get her out of my head. After our non-date on Naruto's boat, she said she needed space and I'm giving it to her,but I cant deny I want to be with her.

Kiba drives town Fox Lake. He doesnt park near the public beach. Instead he takes a right and heads for a secluded part of the beach where the Sharingan used to hang out.

"Why here?" I ask, The Sharingan aren't active in Cali anymore, so I figure this part of the beach is deserted.

But its not.

"You didnt hear the news?" Kiba asks.

"What news?"

"Pein and Madara got out on Friday."

I freeze. Madara and Pein are dangerous motherfuckers. I dont suppose being locked up has reformed them. If he's back, does that mean the Sharingan is about to get stronger?

I've seen gang deaths, beatings, and bullshit. Buti've also seen the honor and loyalty the guys in gangs have to their friends.

The beach is filled with guys from my neiborhood, my people. Guys I haven't seen since i moved back to come out of the woodwork for this welcome home party for Pein and Madara.

Kiba tosses me a can of beer. "Your turn."

I open the can and chug it in hopes the alcohol will erase the image of a soaking wet Sakura in a bikini from my mind. Unfortunately, it doesnt. I reach in the cooler and another can. I take big gulps, waiting for the buzz. I havent gotten shit-faced drunk often, but then again, it isnt often a girl invades my mind.

"Sasuke, come here!" Kiba yells, waving me over.

I head over to where Kiba and his boys are talking, "Sup," I say. He drapes an arm and points to two guys getting out of a black limo behind us. "Thats Pein and Madara."

They are as big as a bear, Pein, with orange hair, got peircings all over him. Madara has tattoos all over his arms and neck. They're both walking in an intimidating dont-fuck-with-me-or-you're-dead swagger. To top off the look, a cigar hands from Pein's and Madara's mouth. Everyone is silent. Pein and Madara stops when he reaches me. if I hadnt grown up with gand members as brothers, i'd probably be shittin' in my pants right now.

"I heard a uchiha has graced California with his presence," Madara says as he holds out his hands for me to shake. "I brought him here." Kiba tells pein proudly taking the credit.

"Guys, let me talk to Uchiha alone." Madara says.

Immediatly everyone leaves and goes to another spot. "I asked Kiba to bring you here."

That doesnt make sense. From what I heard, Madara thought of Itachi as a traitor ever since he got jumped out of the Sharingan. why the sudden change of heart for his younger brother? If madara considers Itachi an enemy, why am I safe from his wrath?

Unless, he expects me to replace Itachi in the gang. Which is highly unlikely.

"I thought you were in jail," I say.

He smiles, with the cigar still hanging out the side of his mouth. "Lets just say, I got out on technicality." Which means, they broke out. He leans foward and talks in a low voice. "I want to rebulid the Sharingan. And you're gonna helpl me do it."

"Why me? I'm not connected."

"Thats where you're wrong, Sasuke. You were born a Sharingan," He pats me on the back. "And you'll be an Sharingan until the day you die."


	17. Losing My Inhibtions

**Chapter 17: Losing my inhibitions**

**Sakura's POV**

Naruto is having a party on his birthday because his parents are always out of town at a yearly sales conference at the same time. Its something everyone at my school looks foward to. I was really excited to come to Naruto's party tonight. I havent opened up physically or emotionally with Sasuke since we went on NAruto;s boat two weeks ago., but i've thought about it everyday, despite our mini argument.

Hinata and I arrived at the party early to decorate his house. Naruto took his older brother's ID and brought a few kegs. Normally, I dont drink, but Sasuke texted me and said that he's definetely comin' tonight.

"What're you doing?" Naruto asks me as I fill a plastic cup to the rim of beer and start to gulp it down.

"Losing my inhibitions," I tell him. "What does it look like i'm doing?"

"You dont drink sakura."

I raise my up in the air. "I do now."

"Hinata!" Naruto yells, obviously not knowing what to do with me. "come here."

Hinata peeks into the kitchen. "Whats up?"

Naruto gestures to me. "Your friend here is havin' her own solo party."

Hinata laughs as I take another gulp. "umm . . .not a good idea, Sak."

"Yes it is. Sasuke is coming here tonight." I'm starting to feel less stressed about being with him the more I drink.

Hinata and Naruto give eachother knowing looks.

"Its not what you think," I tell them. "I just want to know what it would be like if we pretend we're a couple."

"Pretend? Just admit that you like him," Hinata says. "And deal with those feelings. Getting drunk is like a bandage that wont stick."

"I told you, I dont have feelings for him." I laugh at the thought.

Hinata pats NAruto on the chest. "Naruto. . . do something. . . say something."

Naruto holds up his hands. "I'm not touching this conversation with a ten foot pole." He quickly leaves when the doorbell rings.

I've almost drowned the entire cup, and pour myself more. "Do you know Sasuke was the first guy I kissed since Kiba?"

"I know," Hinata says.

"I think thats alot. More than a lot, actually. Sasuke is the perfect one to practice on right?"

Hinata takes the cup out of my hand. "I dont think you should use a guy for pratice. You'll hurt him."

I shrug. "No I wont." I assure her. "He's admitted he's a player, just like Kiba. He's the one who said we should just have fun. I'll make sure he knows whatever happens between us is just casual."

"Girls like Karin do causal hookups, not you." hinata says. When I grab another cup and fill it to the rim, she drops the subject. "Dont say i didnt warn you."

"I'll be fine. You tell me I need to loosen up . Sasuke tells me the same thing. . . I'm gonna give it a try."

An hours later, the music is blarring and the place is crowded. I'm definetely drunk and want to find Sasuke. I down the rest of whatever's in my cup and toss it in the garbage. I push through the crowd to find him. He's nowhere in sight. I ask around, but nobody's seen him.

"Hey Sakura." Jason McKress says, smiling wide with teeth that are so white i bet a blind person could see them. "You look hot."

"Umm. . .i have plans with. . ." I'm tempted to say _Sasuke_ but we dont really have plans. _I _ have plans. I just assume Sasuke will go along with them. and hanging out with Jason is definetely not my plans.

"Go upstairs with me," He says, taking my elbow and urging me away from the throng of partiers.

"I'm not going upstairs wuth you Jason." He's not the one in my fantasies.

"Trust me," He says. "I wont try anything."

"I dont trust guys who says 'trust me' I need. . . some air."

"Fine. Then walk outside with me." This guy wont leave me alone. Before i can even protest, he leads me outside to the pool deck. The entire time, I'm craning my neck to see if I can catch a glimpse of Sasuke, with no luck . He said he'd be here, but maybe he changed his mind.

Jason is drunk, too. I can tell my the way he stumbles across the deck before sitting on one of the lounge chairs. "Sit next to me," He says, then grabs my wrist and urges me down. "You look like a hot tamale."

"Thats not reall a compliment," I tell him.

He leans toward me. I dont know if he's falling on me, or trying to make a move. Either way, he smells like beer and sweat. Its not a good mix. I push him off me.

"Hey," I hear Sasuke say as he steps into view.

He looks good in jeans that hang off his hips just the slightest bit and a T-shirt that looks so worn it's probably soft as milk.

Jason glances up at him. "Go away. Stupid Japanese."

"Sakura's also Japanese, you dumbass." Sasuke says.

Jason stiffens. "Who you calling a dumbass,"

"Nobody! He didnt mean it," I say. "Right, Sasuke?"

"Not really," Sasuke says. "I meant it."

Jason is about to get up and challenge Sasuke when Naruto grabs Jason's arm and steers him away from Sasuke. "Jason, I need your help."

"With what?" Jason asks.

"Just . . . something." Naruto leads him out the house, leaving me alone with Sasuke.

Sasuke is looking at me as if I've betrayed him. "What were you doin' with that dobe?"

"I didnt actually sit with him. . . Okay, I did but. . ." I sigh. Tonight is not going as i planned. I'm drunk, and I dont know how to explain that i've been waiting for him this entire time. I can show him though. "Follow me."

He hesitates.

"Come on," I say, taking his hands and leading him toward the pool house. I know the key is hidden in the plant. I take it out and open the door with one thing on my mind: to let go of my inhibitions and kiss Sasuke like I did in my house. This time, though, I wont hold back. Sasuke attempts to turn on the light switch, but I put my hand over his.

"Lock the door," I tell him.

He does.

I walk father into the room. "I dont want to be with Jason tonight. You're right, he is a dobe."

"I didnt like seeing you with him," He says. "I dont think I'd like seein' you with any other guy. . . besides me."

Right now I have a desperate need to be held by him. This sin going to define me. This is about having fun and living out the fantasy.

"Hold me," I say. _"Please."_

"You're drunk." He says.

"Just a little buzzed, thats all."

"Sakura," He whispers as he gets closer. As soon as I feel his body heat I reach out and slowly run my hand down his arm.

"Dont talk," I whisper. If he talks, he might say something to ruin the moment. To be honest, I'm afraid of what he'll say. Being here, in the dar, make this surreal. It's like a mixture of fantasy and reality all meshed in one. I'm totally okay with living in Fantasy Land right now, because thats what I need. If this felt too real. I wouldnt be able to go through it.

I brush my lips across his face to his ear. "Hold me, like you wanted to on the boat."

The second he wraps his arms around me, a sweet calmness washes over my entire body. It reminds me of when he held me protectively when we were in Fox Lake. I'm not deluding myself into thinking this incredible feeling will last forever, but I revel in his embrace. I'm living in the moment, and it feels amazingly good, I never want it to end.

His arms are caressing my back slowly, the warmth of his strong fingers searing my skin through my silky top.

I've pushed him away for so long, but tonight the pressure is off. With renewed determination, I reach up and touch my fingertips to his face.

He pulls back. "You sure about this?"

"Definetely," I say. "You're my fantasy tonight. Is that okay?"

He laughs. "Fantasy, huh?"

"Yeah. As in opposite of reality." I laugh, giddy just being here with him. I'm excited to put my plan into motion. "Just for tonight, lets see what happens."

"And tomorrow?"

Tomorrow? "I havent thought that far ahead. I just want to make out with you right now. You game?"

"That depends."

"On what?" I ask.

He leans foward and kisses the sensitive spot right under my ear, then whispers. "If you want to stop kissin', or go further."

When he brushes he lips slowly down my neck, I throw my head back, and hope he continues to go slow. I'm not used to slow.

"That feels so good." I moan, as he lets his lips rest on the spot where he can feel my pulse. He kisses the spot lightly. "Keep doing that."

He kisses it again. And again. And again. "Your pulse is racin'," He whispers against my skin.

"No shit." I say, which makes him laugh.

I put my hand on his chest. Through his shirts, I can feel his heart beating hard and fast against my palm. "Yours is, too."

"Mmm," He says before i feel the softness of his warm, wet tongue replace his lips on my pulse.

Whoa. Suddenly I get dizzy and grab his shoulders for support. His strong arms lock around me immediately and hold me steady, as if he's more than willing to be my hero tonight.

I need a hero.

Its romantic. The shades are closed and we have total privacy from the chaos outside. A few slashes of dim light bewteen the slats break through the darkness of the room. I dont know know if it's alcohol I drank that's making me want him so much, but i've never felt this way-not even with Kiba.

I wosh this could last forever.

When his lips sear a path down my neck and he gently pushes the straps of my shirt away to kiss the top of his shoulder, I cant take it anymore.

"If you dont kiss me I'm gonna die." I pant. "Forget about going slow."

"I thought you said my tongue action needed work."

"I lied. Want to try it again?"

"Oh yeah." He says. "Real bad."

He hesitates for a split second, nut then I feel his palm cup my cheek while his thumb moves back and forth like a soft caress across my lips. I close my eyes and kiss his thumb.

It disappears, and a flick of his tongue against my lips makes my breath hitch.

"Let me taste you, Sakura." He moans.

I clear my head from all thoughts and inhibitions as my tongue reaches out for his, He's a breath away, waiting for me. When our tongues collide, its hot and wet and slippery and slow. . . its feels dirty, sexy, and beautiful all at once.

I melt into him as he holds me close. Our mouths are open and we're tasting eachother. I feel him against me, and his obvious bodily reaction to our kiss makes ny body ache for his touch. I break our kiss and pull my shirt over my head. I'm standing here in my shorts and bra.

I take his hands and place it over my bra. His breath catches, and the hot air around us seems electrified.

His fingers skim the silky satin of my bra and the sensitive spot between my breasts. His hands are skilled and slow. He's teasing me, and i'm breathing harder in anticipation of him pulling the material aside.

Waiting is complete torture.

I cant wait anymore. I reach around and unhook my bra, then let it fall to the floor, I wish I could see his face right now, because mines is burning up.

"Your turn," I say playfully, then tug on the bottom of his shirt. "I want to feel your skin against mine."

He hestitates again.

"Its okay," I tell him. "Dont overthink this. We're having fun. Isnt that what you want?"

Without further hesitation he rips of his shirt and immediately pulls me against him. My breast crush against his hard, lean body.

While he caresses my bare back and his hands move down to cup my butt again, I wrap my arms around his neck and legs around his waist. His hands hold me suspended in midair until he carries me to the nearest wall. He presses against my body, holding me against the wall while we grind against eachother. His hardness presses against my softness, and I wish we were naked but at the same time i'm glad we're not, because right now, I'm not in control. I've lost it, and I have a feeling he has too.

I bite down hard on his bottom lip when things gets too intense, too emotional. My hands are on his hot chest and I cant hold back anymore.

I wrao my arms around him tighter and whimper against his neck. My entire world explodes around me, and the feeling wont stop. Then i feel him grab me tighter while he comes apart inmy arms. It's just . . . wow.

"That was amazing," I say weakly after I come down from the high and catch my breath. "To be honest, I was nervous all week. But. . . this was a great fantasy, wasnt it?"

He tenderly touches my hair, then gently runs his fingers through it. "It was more than that."

"Yo, Sasuke!" Kiba's voice calls from the outsude of the pool house. _Knock, knock, knock._ "Sasuke, you in there?"


	18. Fight

**Chapeter 18: Fight**

**Sasuke's POV**

Sakura quickly covers her nakedness with her hand and whispers in a frantic voice. "Its Kiba. What is he doing here?"

"I dont know." My body is still coming off the high and I cant think straight. I've hardly had time to recover, and I know there's a good chance the evidence of what we just did is probably gonna be visible, on her and me. Mostly her. Not good.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"I'll get rid of him." I pick up her clothes and hand them to her.

I watch as sakura clutches her bra and shirt to her chest. "Thanks,: she whispers. I nod.

She rushes past me, but I take her hand and gently urge her to face me. "So. . . are we cool?" I know its the stupidist thing to say, but no other wods come, I want to tell her more, a lot more, but I cant.

"Yeah, we're cool. Just. . .go."

She locks herself in the small bathroom while I make sure my shirts covers any evidence of our encounter. Exspecially my neck, and shoulders.

"What the fuck took you so long?" Kiba asks.

Shit. _Think of something fast. _"Takin' a piss. What're you doing here? I thought you didnt party with north siders."

"I might not party with em' but I've got business with 'em."

By_ business_ he means drugs. "You're crazy."

"And proud of it."

He peers over my shoulder and scans the pool house, but the lights are off so he cant see anything. I close the door and head out, hoping to guide Kiba far away from Sakura. Its obvious she doesnt want him, knowing what happened between us. Hell, she might even want to deny we fooled around. Or maybe she was too drunk she wont even remember it in the morning.

Kiba and I walk into the main house. "This place is lame. Lets bounce." he says, pushing through the crowd of people who are eyeing us suspciously.

"Who invited the Japanese?" Jason calls out as we leave. He's on the front lawn with a bunch of guys from the football team, and they're not sober. They're all laughing and giving Jason high fives for insulting us.

Kiba and I both halt, give eachother knowing looks, and in unison turn to face Jason and his crew.

"What the hell did you just call us?" Kiba asks, ready for a fight.

"You heard me," Jason says. "We only allow immigrants here when we need rice and soy sauce."

"Really?" Kiba says. "Cause I screwed your sister in her bedroom two weeks ago she didnt say anythin' about that. In fact, I know firsthand that she loves eatin' big, fat burritos."

Oh, man. Jason nostrils flare, and his group advances toward us. "You're dead, Inuzuka."

"Did you really screw his sister?" I mumble out of the side of my mouth so only Kiba can hear.

He grins mischievously and nods.

"Go back to Japan where you kung-fu bitches belong." Jason sayss, then spits at us like we're dogs.

Without hesitation, Kiba charges him. I've got his back, though, when two of Jason's friends pull him off and start pummeling Kiba with thier fist. It doesnt take long for a crowd to gather.

I dont get into fights often, but when I do the beast in me unleashes with a vengenance. The instinct to fight is in my Uchiha blood. Two guys are holding me down while the third is kicking my stomach. It doesnt even hurt. . . which each blow the rage rising to the surface makes me stronger. I break out of their grasp and bring two of them down before I scramble to get up and pull a guy off Kiba.

I fight one gu yto the ground, punching until he stops fighting back. Then Jason and I get into it. He throws a punch that hits me square in the jaw. I retaliate with a punch of my own that brings him down.

I dont even notice the flashing blue and red lights of a copo car until two cops pins me to the ground. One puts his knee on my back and starts to handcuff me, I look over and see another two cops handcuff Kiba.

"Get up, Sasuke." one of the officers orders.

Huh? I know that voice. I turn around at the officer. Holy crap. It's Officer Asuma, my next door neibor and the guy who's been flirting with my mom.

"Shit," I groan. "Not you."

"You know this kid?" another cop asks Asuma.

"Yeah. And i know his mom aint gonna be happy he got in a fight." Sasuke looks on the ground right next to me. Two packets of blue and white pills are lying in the grass. "what are those?" he asks me. "Those come out of your pockter when you were fighting?"

"No."

He picks up the packets.

"Looks like blow to me," one of the cops holding Kiba says. "You two have been dealing tonight?" he asks us.

Kiba shakes his head. "No sir,"

"Asum, I swear they're not mine," I tell him.

I glance up at the crowd and see Sakura, standing there with her hand over her mouth in shock. When our eyes meet, she turns away in disgust. She doesnt believe me.

From the look on Asuma's face, he doesnt believe me either. He lets out a slow breath and shake shis head in frustration. "All right, you two over by the squad cars, Now!"

I'm told to spread my legs so Asuma can pat me down.

"Got any weapons, drugs, or needles on you , Sasuke?"

"No," I say.

"You high or drunk?" he asks, his hands patting up and my legs.

"No."

"Then why were you fighting?"

I shrug. "Just felt like it, I guess."

"Think hard, because I'm the one who's gonna have to call your mother to explain why I have you in custody and suspects you were dealing some pretty heavy stuff."

"I didnt come here to start trouble."

"Really then why are you here?"

"He was invited." Naruto calls out. "By me."

"And who the hell are you?" Asuma asks.

"I live here."

"Let me see some ID." Naruto pulls out his ID and Asuma examine it.

Asuma gives a short laugh. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks."

"Listen, I'm sure you're aware that the lega drinking age in California is twenty-one. You're eighteen." Asuma tsks and shakes his head. "Where are your parents?"

"Vegas."

"So you decided you'd host a birthday bash with underage drinking, fights, and drugs?"

Naruto nods. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Uh-huh. Get everyone out of your house, lock it up, and come to the station with us so we can call your parents," Asuma says.

Naruto is hella cool, to come out here and vouch for me. "Dont take him in, Asuma," I say. "Give the guy a break. Its his birthday."

Asuma shakes his head. "I dont care if it was christmas. Birthdays arent a license to break the law, Sasuke."

Im led to the back of one of the squad cars, while Kiba and NAruto are led to the other. Two officers drive them away, while Asuma heads over to talk to Jason and his friends, taking notes the whole time. I take another glance at the crowd and see that they all left, all except sakura, who is still standing there, staring straight at me. We stare for a good couple of minutes before she breaks away and walk into the house. I look over at Asuma and he and his partners are walking back to the squad car I'm in. Asuma gets in the driver's seat and turns to me. "You really screwed up tonight."

I smirk. "Tell me bout' it."

"Listen, Sasuke. I care about your mother. You being involved in fighting and dealing drugs is gonna hurt her real bad."

"I already told you, the pills wasnt mine."

"Was it your buddy's stash?"

I shrug. "I dont know."

"Here's the deal. I'm gonna let you and your friends off tonight after calling their parents, because I didnt find the drugs on you or your friend and a few witnesses said that you and Kiba were harrassed before the fight. But I'll be watching you like a fucking hawk from now on. If I find out you're dealing or getting into more fights, I'll be on your ass so fast your head will spin."

Shit, this guys is worming his way into my mom's life, and now he's going all parental on me. I've lived without a father my entire life, and had done just fine.

"You're not my father." I remind him.

"You're right. If I were, I'd lock you in juvie for the night to teach you a lesson."


	19. Wall Back Up Now

**Chapter 19: Wall Back Up Now**

**Sakura's POV**

I let my guard down, which was not my plan. Tonight, when Sasuke and I was in the pool house, I allowed myself to believe Sasuke and Kiba were completely different.

That was before the fight.

Sasuke and Kiba, we're on the same side, fighting Jason and some guys from the football team. Sasuke's fist were flying, and the worst part about it was that I think he liked it-as if the fight fed some need in him.

I dont know who started the fight. It doesnt matter, really. Sasuke didnt walk away. Instead, he was the last man standing, ready to take on anyone that would challenge him. He didnt stop until the cops physically restrained him.

And then I saw the drugs on the ground right by his feet. I cant be with someone who fights and deal drugs.

Kiba used to fight so much he'd get suspended. Principal Jiraya says he has a zero tolerance policy, but quickly realized when our class entered the school during freshman year, he gave everyone three strikes and then expelled them, there'd hardly be any students from the south side left. Jiraya still threatens to expel students, but rarely follows through.

I need to focus myself to stop thinking about Sasuke. As I fall onto my bed after I get home, I cant help but hate myself for feeling so vunerable tonight. I let go all of my inhibitions and knew what I was doing. But Sasuke didnt tell me he was dealing drugs-thats a game changer.

Sunday morning comes and I wake up hoping Miko has started eating on her own.

"How is Miko doing?" I ask Shizune.

"She wont eat much. She's definetely depressed."

I go to her cage and sit with her.

Miko sniffs the air as soon as I open her cage. "Hey girl," I say as I reach out and lead her to my lap. "Did you miss me?

Her answer is a wag of a tail. She looks thin. Too thin.

I pet her behind the ears and she rolls onto her back. When she seems content, I pick up the food in her bowl and hand-feed her. She eats from my hand when I put the food to her nose.

"Want me to take you home?"

She answers by nuzzling her nose into my leg.

"i just have to convince my parents to take you," I tell her.

When I'm home and I tell my parents about Miko, they both say I cant have her.

"You have too much going on," Mom says.

"And when you're off to college, then what?" Dad says.

"But she's old, and blind and living in a age! If you were old and blind, would you want to spend your last days in a cage?" I argue.

Mom pats my hand. "Sakura, we think it's admirable for you to want to help a dog, but-"

I sigh. "Just. . . can you meet her? Meet her first, then make a decision, okay? I'm sure she'll be a great pet, and I know when you take one look at her you'll have the same opinion that I do about her."

They both look at me as if I'm pathetic. I know what they're thinking, that I'm trying to take care of a needy animal because I need to be wanted. We've covered this ground before. Maybe they're right. I cant help but have a special bond with the less fortunate dogs who come into the shelter-the ones who seem helpless. I root for the underdog, every time.

"I'll tell you what," Dad says. "Next weekend, if Miko is still there-"

"Or alive." Mom interupts.

"Your mother and I will go meet her."

A big grin crosses my face. "That's awesome.! Thanks so much!" I hug both of them.

"We're making no promises, Sakura."

"I know, I know." Well, I do know. Once they see Miko they'll fall in love with her.

On Monday, the buzz about the fight at Naruto's house, the arrests, and the drugs found by Sasuke's feet is running rampant. I cant walk down any hall without hearing something about Sasuke, Naruto, or Kiba.

I get some sideway glances, too. Everyone at shool knows Kiba and I dated, and some still associate us together.

I avoid eye ontact with Sasuke even when he calls out my name, and during lunh I sit in the library and study for my calulus exam so there's no hance of meeting him of Kiba. I know I'll be seeing Sasuke in chemistry, though.

I time my arrival so I get to chemistry just as bell rings.

"You can't ignore me forever," Sasuke whispers behind me as Kakashi intructs us to go to the sink in the back of the room to clean out our test tubes.

"Yes I can," I tell him.

"What about Saturday night, in the pool house?"

I freeze, remembering the moment I let go of all my inhibitions. That was a mistake, and the wall is up again. "Im trying my best to forget it."

"You can try, but it's not gonna work." He leans closer. "I cant forget it either, you know."

His words stir something deep inside me, and I need to lash out at him to push him away. "You know what sucks though? You starting a fight just minutes later with Jason and finding out that you were dealing drugs."

He steps back and weaves his hand through his hair. "Yeah, that was a bummer. You know what sucks even more, thought?"

I shrug. "You're gonna tell me anyway so what sucks even more?"

"That you're so desperate to believer everythin' bad you hear about me. You're obviously not a supporter of the 'innocent until proven guilty' concept."

"Mr. Uchiha," Kakashi calls out. "Stop the chatter. Are you aware there are people in the back of you who need to use the sink?"

Sasuke looks right at our teacher and says, "To be honest, Kakashi, I dont really give a shit."


	20. Bad Day

**Chapter 20: Bad Day**

**Sasuke's POV**

I'm done worrying about getting detentions, staying after school for an hour in obviously going to be a common occurence so I might as well embrace it. In fact, the last time I had detention I actually got some homework done. The problem is getting a detention from a teacher who insists that you serve detention in his classroom instead of in the cafeteria with the other delinquents.

I'm sitting on my usual lad stool and I pull out homework. I'm about to work on math problems when Kakashi stands over me. I look up at him. He's giving me the evil eye, which would make me laugh if I didnt think he'd give me another detention if I did.

"Hi," I say.

"Dont _Hi _me. What's going on with you?" He crosses his arms over his chest, and I can sense the wrath of Kakashi Hakate is about to hit like a tornado. "You know better that to cuss in my class. You also know having private spats in the middle of a class experiment is unacceptable."

"I'm havin' a bad day."

"From the look of the bruises on your face, I'd also say you had a bad weekend. Want to talk about it?" He asks as he sits on Naruto's desk. I get the sense that he's parked there and isnt about to move until I spill.

"Not really."

"Okay, dont talk. I'll do the talking and you can listen."

I put my hand up, stopping him. "You can save your breath."

"My motto is you cant have too many lectures. Ask your brothers, they'll confirm my philosophy. Sometimes yoo're on a great path, and you reach a fork in the road. Sometimes you decide to go straight, and all is fine and dandy. But then sometimes the other paths look a little interesting, so you choose to switch things up a bit."

I roll my eyes. "And you're point is?"

"Dont switch things up, Sasuke. I've known your family since you were eleven years old. You're smart like Itachi, you have a drive like Sai, and you've got a boyish charm all your own that endearing. You can lose it all like this." He says, snapping his fingers.

"Sometimes you have no choice about what path you follow. Sometimes you're forced into it," I respond.

He sighs. "I know it's not easy. Itachi started out on a destructive path, but found a way to make it right. I know you will, too." He waves a finger in my face, acting like a stern teacher he always been. "And if you cuss in my class agin, I'm gonna personally drag you down to 's office."

"You're not as mean as you think you are, you know." I tell him. "Your zero tolerance policy hass too many gray areas."

He gives me the finger and slides off the stool. "Its my wife, Kurenai's pregnancy. I assure you after she pushes that kid out. I'll come back to school meaner than ever."

"Somethin' to look forward to," I say sarcastically.

After detention, I head over to the Orange Club, my job.

"Your late," My boss says as I pass her in the lobby.

"I know. My chemistry teacher made me stay after school. It wont happen again."

"Make sure it doesn't. I dont tolerate employees." She narrows her eyes and steps closer. "What the hell happened to your face?"

Oh, hell. I could lie and say I fell down the stais, but I doubt that she'll believe me. I might as well fess up. "I got into a fight. I;m sorry. I had a bad week. Just give me another chance," I say, but she's already walking me toward the door.

"Sorry, You're fired. Your last paycheck will be sent to your home." She glances at her watch, a sign that it is time for me to leave. "I'm sorry. Your last payhek will be sent to your house." Boss said. "Boe! Mr. Uchiha is no longer an employee. Please escort him off the property."

I sigh. "No bother," I look at her. "I know the way." And with that, I walk out. Great, now I have no job.

So after leaving the Orange Club, I take my time walking home. How the hell am I gonna explain getting fired to my mom? It's bad enough she hasn't talked to me since she picked me up from the police station on Saturday night. On top of that I've got Pein AND Madara telling me that I'm already a Sharingan, Sakura, who thinks I'm a piece of shit drug dealer, Kakashi breathing down me neck; a cop making moves on my mother, and now I get fired.

Talk about a week from hell.

A big black SUV pulls up beside me. It's Madara. "Hey, Uchiha. Get in the car."

When I was a kid I knew to stay away from Madara. I once over-heard Itachi telling Kisame, Itachi's bestfriend who Oruchimaru killed, that Madara was a crazy motherfucker who'd profess to be your bestfriend on minute and point a gun at your head the next. Madara's older now, with weathered skin and empty eyes. My mom warned me to stay away. I'm not afraid of him, and I want to know what he's up to. I didnt tell mom that I dont want to stay away, because I want to find out what Madara has planned. If Madara has control, he can order revenge on Itachi. If my family is in danger, I need to know. Getting close to Madara and Pein is my only option. I dont know if that makes me tough of just plain stupid.

I get in the car and admire the clean leather seats and sweet sound system. "Where are we goin'?"

"The warehouse." He blows out smoke from his cigar. It lingers in the car before slowly, and I mean slowly, disappearing. "You ever been there?"

"No."

"It's time." He drives through town. I notice him looking through the rearview mirror and glancing around, probably making sure we're not being followed. He makes a quick turn onto a small street between the railroad tracks and an industrial park. It doesn't take long before we drive through a wooded area and come upon a big building with a red eye on it. This place is deserted because Madara and Pein was sent to jail. Now that they're back, the place is buzzing once again.

I take it all in, wondering how come this guy trusts me.

"Come on," Madara says. "You and I need to have a little chat."

A few guys are hanging out front. He flags the Sharingan gang sign, ang they flag back, before parting and letting us pass. He leads me to a room off to the side with a huge leather couch facing a big flat-screen TV with a coffee table and a big bottle of tequila.

"Where's Pein?" I ask looking around. He pulls our another cigar and lits it before looking at me with a smirk.

"He's been AWOL. I'm sure he is alright. Sit down." He order, taking a big puff from the cigar.

I want to know what the hell he wants from me, without the bullshit.

"I'm fine."

He shrugs, then leans back on the couch, making himself comfortable. He puts his feet up on the coffee table infront of him. "I want to be friends. I've kept an eye on you ever since you left Cali. You're a smart kid, Sasuke. Smarter than most dobes out there."

I make a short laugh. "So you kicked the shit out of my brother and left him for the dead, and now you want to be friends with his little brother? You're right I am smart, you don't want me as your friend, Madara. You want to use me as a pawn."

He laughs, and leans over to pour himself some tequila. "We're all pawns, Sasuke. The bottom line is that the Sharingan needs you, and it's your time to step up. Everyone has to step up sometime."

"To fill my brother's spot?"

"Sure, if you want to rationalize it that way. The Sharigan is comin' back to Cali. You're either with us or against us. Itachi knew the score and was smart enough tom come on board. He knew the consequences of not joinin' when approached to be a part of our brotherhood. He's out. The burden is on you now."

"What are you sayin'?

He pulls out a M9 from the waistband of his jeans, places it on the coffee table with a loud _thud_, then looks up at me with a stern, serious expression. "You want to keep your family safe, don't you?"


	21. How Bad Can It Get?

**Chapter 22: How Bad Can It Get?**

**Sakura's POV**

I am a big believer in the justice system. The fact that Sauske insinuated I judged him unfairly is just. . . Okay maybe I did judge him. But the evidence was right there, at his feet.

During dinner, I can't eat. The hurt look in Sasuke's bruised face after I told him he was just like Kiba, and he's dealing drugs makes me feel horrible. After dinner, I go to Hinata's house. I plop myself on Hinata's lavender beanbag chair in her roomm and spill everything.

"I called Sasuke out, and he got pissed that I judged him before hearing his side. I feel like crap now. Sasuke and I fooled around in Naruto's pool house right before the fight. It was intense." I get butterflies in my stomach remembering how far we went. Hinata's laugh broke me out of my thoughts.

I scoff. "Hinata! It's not funny. I dont remember it ever being that intense with Kiba, and it scares me. I can't get sucked into a relationship with a guy who's gangbangin' and dealing."

Hinata nods. "I agree with you there," she says. "But maybe the reason why you even allowed it to get that far, was probably because you feel something for Sasuke."

Oh, how I wish I could turn back time and make Sasuke ignore Kiba's knock on the pool house door. I throw my hands up in exasperation. "I told Sauske it was fooling around with him, but to be honest it was more than that. It _felt _real, and I got carried away because of it."

"You told him it was just some casual _fun_?"

"What else was I supposed to do, Hinata? I dont want him thinking that I want to trap him in some exclusive relationship and I'm falling for him. He'd probably laugh in my face anyway."

"Or he might confess his undying love for you, and you guys will ride off in the sunset." Hinata says, laughing. I look at her, crossing my arms over my chest.

"This isnt funny, hinata! From the first second I met Sasuke, two years ago, I knew he was a player. He didnt even try to hide the fact that he wanted a simple hook up the night we met. When I rejected him, he moved on to someone more willing."

Hinata gets a phone call, but she ignores it. "Did you ever think that Sasuke wouldn't consider being trapped to be in a relationship with you?"

"No."

"You, my friend, have issues that you still need to work on."

Tell me about it. "Just the thought of bringing up the word _relationship _scares me. It's a moot subject, though, because we've pegged Sasuke as a gangbanger."

Hinata sighs. "I dont know. If he's dealing drugs, get out now before you get sucked in. But Naruto thinks he's not doing that stuff. They've become friends."

Ugh, I'm so confused. I was so sure after Sasuke got in that fight, and I saw the drugs right there that he was guilty. Now I'm second-guessing myself. "You think I should go talk to him?"

"Talk to who?" Narutp says, walking into the room and giving Hinata a kiss like they're a married couple in love.

"Sasuke," I say.

"I saw him storming out of the Orange Club, about two hours ago. I tried calling but he's not answering. He looked pretty bummed," Naruto says.

"What happened?" I ask in a panic. "Why did they fire him?"

He shrugs. "Don't know. I asked some of the staff, but didnt get any answers."

With renewed determination, I get off the beanbag and grab my keys. "I', going over Sasuke's house to talk to him." I feel sick, as if somehow his detention and getting fired from the Orange Club is connected to our argument in chemistry class. I never gave him a chance to explain everything because, in the back of my mind, I was looking for an excuse, to push him away.

I took the cowards way out.

"Sakura, wait!" hinata grabs her purse. "We're going with you for moral support." I smile brightly.

"Thanks, but I need to do this on my own."

Hinata gives me an understanding, sympathetic look. "Just remember that if it was meant to be, it's all _good.!"_

It makes me wonder if it wasn't meant to be, how _bad _can it get?


	22. Hanging With The Family

**Chapter 23: Hanging With The Family**

**Sasuke's POV**

I walk home, glad that my mom is working so I can be alon and lock myself in my room. The second I walk in the house, I realize that's not a option. Both of my brothers are sitting on the couch in the living room. I haven't seen Sai in over a year, and wasnt expecting him to be released from the hospital in Germany until next wekk. He looks fine, but when he gets up I can tell its not without pain.

"Hey Bro.!" I say. "They let you out early?"

"I couldn't stand bein' in the hospital, so I made them release me early. I almost don't reconize you," Sai says, giving me the once-over. "You're sportin' some badass bruises. How does the other guy look?"

"You mean the other five guys?"

Sai whistles in appreciation as he turns to Itachi. "Our little brother has turned into quite a fighter while I was away."

"Tell me about it," Itachi mumbles. "Ask him who he's been hangin' with."

Sai raises and eyebrow. "Who you hangin' with Sasuke?"

"None of your business. Itachi, where's Konan and Daku?"

"At her parent's house for dinner. I got out of goin' when I heard Sai was flyin' in today. So Sasuke. . . I got a text from Boss a few minutes ago sayin' you got the boot. What happened to your job at the country club?"

"Thats also none of your business."

"You're our little brother," Sai says, advancing on me like a solider on a mission. "Everythin' you do is our business."

The last thing I need is my brothers giving me shit, especially now. I would push Sai away, but supposedly he's got a nasty gash complete with a shitload of stiches on his leg from shrapnel that wedged itself into his muscle.

"Lay off," I tell him, but my words fall on deaf ears.

Sai attempts to pin me to the wall like he did when we were kids. I'm too fast and slip out of his reach, ut not before he grabs my T-shirt and pulls it hardd to get me to face him.

"You packin' heat, aren't you?"he says as he lets go of my shirt.

Shit. Busted. Itachi is up in a flash. He stands next to Sai and both of my brother form a human wall, preventing me from escaping.

"Give it to me," Itachi growls.

Sai shakes his head. "What the fuck, Sasuke? You gangbangin'?"

I hear the front door open and mom's voice call out, "What's going on?"

Asuma is standing behind her in uniform.

Sai immediately blocks me protectively. "You got a warrant?" He asks.

"Sai," Mikoto, mom, snaps in a scolding tone. "Dont be rude. I invited Asuma over for dinner."

"Who the hell is Asuma?" Sai asks.

"Our next-door neighbor," I explain. "And the landlord."

Sai looks from me, to Itachi, then to Mikoto. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"I'm afraid not," Itachi says.

Mikoto sets down her groceries in the kitchen, then comes back in the room. "What are you doing home so early, Sasuke?"

"I got fired."

She blinks a few times in shock. "Fired?"

"They didn't want an employee with bruises from a fight servin' customers."

Mikoto shakes her head in disappointed and sighs. Damn, I think she's about to cry. I wonder if it's because Officer Friendly is here. She excuses herself and sullenly escapes back to the kitchen.

Asuma steps foward and holds out his hand to Sai. "You must be Sai. Your mother is really proud of your service. It's nice to finally meet you."

While Sai and Asuma shakes hands, Itachi slaps me on the shoulder. "Sasuke and I will be right back," He tell them.

In my room, Itachi goes all father-figure on me. "You better not be dealin' drugs," He says in a harsh whisper so Asuma can't hear us.

"I'm not."

"Why did you get fired? Don't bullshit me."

"It wasn't for gangbangin', Itachi. I already said I got fired for havin' bruises on my face. . . and for being late for work," I add.

"Why were you late?" Itachi asks, not letting up on his interrogation. I think he chose the wrong profession.

"Kakashi gave me a detention. Now, lay off, bro. I'm not strapped and I'm not dealing drugs. Seriously, Itachi, stop putting shit on me."

I pull my shirt up and show him that I'm hiding a black rolled up notebook in my waistband. I pull it out. "I dont have a gun in my waistband. I have this."

Sai, who just popped in the room, pulls the notebook from my hand. "What's this?"

"The gun you thought he was hiding in his pants," Itachi says. "Its a notebook, Sherlock."

Sai opens the notebook and starts reading the first page out loud.

_**"Nobody really knows her**_

_**Except the chosen few**_

_**Her secrets are kept hidden**_

_**Behind that sun-kissed hue."**_

"Give me that!" I yell as I try to grab the notebook back. Sai yanks it out of my reach and continues reading.

_**"If I reach out to touch her**_

_**She'll just run away**_

_**My forever and Always**_

_**Will have to wait another day."**_

"Holy shit, bro. That's deep. Itachi, I would've thought you were the sappiest one in this family, but I was wrong, Sasuke beats you, hands down." Sai rolls back up the notebook and hands it to me. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"Doesn't matter. She thinks I'm scum."

Sai laughs. "That means she likes you, bro. Shit, for the first time I met Ino, she thought I was an asshole."

"You _were _an asshole," Itachi chimes in.

"Damn straight," Sai says, completely proud of it. "Girls like assholes, at least they did when i was in high school. We're a challenge for 'em. Ino was different." He aughs just think about his girlfriend. "Ino, on the other hand, was _my _challenge. She didnt make it easy for me."

Sakura's not making it easy for me, either. Man, life used to be so simple until we moved back to California. I had a solid, foolproof ten-year plan. Now that I'm back, all my plans have turned to shit. Today I was forced to make a choice between my family's safety and my own future. I had to take the detour, My family comes first. They'll always come first.

I had to take the gun Madara put on the table. I pledged my loyalty to the Sharingan after that, which screws everything up. How long can I keep the truth from my brothers when they're already suspciously?

"Itachi.! Sasuke.! Sai.! Come help set the table.!" Mom calls out to us. My brothers practically jump to attention when they hear her voice. "We'll talk about this later," Itachi promises.

I play it cool until everyone is occupuied in the kitchen. It's my opening to find a place to hide the gun. When Asuma came in, I maneuvered the M9 so it was hidden in my shorts. Nodoby saw me slip a notebook from my backpack and roll it up. I didn't think I could pull it off, but I did. I swear a few times I thought the gun was about to slip down, but by some miracle it held until Itachi walked out of the room.

Now I've got to stash it so my brothers won't find it, and Daku won't accidentally get a hold of it when he comes over and mistakes it for a toy. Without having time to think, I rush to my closet and shove it the M9 in the pocket of a black trench coat that I havent wore in a while. The coat is in the back of the closet, so I'm confident it's safetly hidden. I walk back to the kitchen and hope I dont have guilt written al over my face.

"Hey, Ma, Did you know Sasuke has a crush on a girl?" Sai says when we're all eating at the small kitchen table. Asuma's gotten the hint that we are not particulary thrilled that he is here, so he's been quiet.

"That's news to me," Mikoto says. She doesn't even look in my direction, clearly still pissed at me getting in a fight and losin' my job. I'm glad when the doorbell rings and interupts the silence.

"Expectin' anyone?" Itachi asks as he moves toward the front door.

"No." Mikoto says.

My cousin, Kin stomps in the house like a tornado. Everything about Kin is big. She's got big hair, a big personality, and. . . . well, lets just say she doesnt need silicone implants. Kin is hilarious, but she is one scary nihon no on'nanoko when she's pissed. "Is the bastard here?" she asks.

Itachi shrugs. "And that bastard would be. . . ."

"Shikamaru. You know, my cheating husband."

Mikoto rushes over to her side. "What happened?"

"I found him at the Orange Club with that tramp, Tatsuya Inkuki."

"Who's Tatsuya Inkuki?" I ask.

"His high school ex-girlfriend. I caught them in the act."

"You caught them having sex at the Orange Club?" Sai chimes in, confused and maybe a litle amused.

"No. They had dinner.! when was the last time my sonofabitch husband took _me _to dinner, huh? Huh? _HUH?_ Anyone wanna answer that question?" She gestures to each of us, then sneers when she focuses on Asuma. "Mikoto, are you aware that you've got a cop sitting at your dinner table?"

"I'm Asuma," He says, standing up as he introduces himself. She raises a lean, dark, eyebrow and stares at the handcuffs secured to his uniform, just waiting to be slapped on an unsuspecting criminal. Considering Kin herself had run-ins with cops when she was younger, she doesnt trust cops any more than the rest of us do. She take a step away from Asuma as if he has some infectious disease.

"Yeah, umm. . ." She turns to my mom and murmers fast and furious, "Whatthe_fuck_?" She says it as if it's all one word.

My mom response is, "He's a friend."

Kin nods slowly as her brain is processing the information. "He's a friend? Since when dod you become friends with cops? Wait, maybe this is a sign.!" She plasters a big smile on her face and turns to Asuma. "I need you to arrest my cheating husband."

"While I'd really like to help you," Asuma says, "I can't legally do that."

"Who say anything about doing it_ legally?_"

"She's kidding, right?" Asuma asks Mikoto, who shrugs with embarrassment.

"Not really." Dismissing Asuma because he can't help her cause Kin stands next to Sai's plate and reaches out to take a bite out off his burger. "I forgot to welcome you home, sai. How's your leg?"

"I got to be honest, Kin," Sai says as she kisses him on the cheek and leaves a bid red lipstick mark. "Since, you came in, I haven't felt any pain. You're more entertainin' than TV, and more effective than Vicodin."

She takes her attention off of Sai and focuses on me. I moan as she takes my cheek and squeezes it between her fingers. "I love you Uchiha boys like you were my own. _Mwah.!_ "

She comes in close, I can clearly see a stray chin hair she needs to pluck, and her strong perfume burns my nostrils.

Her lips start to pucker and I cringe. "Please dont get lipstick on me."

"Oh, you know you love it," she responds. I try to shield my face, but she plants a wet one on my cheeks with her big lips.

"Did she get me bad?" I asks Itachi.

Itachi cocks his head to the side, analyzing the mark. "Yeah. She got you good, bro."

Itachi doesn't wait for Kin to make her mark on him. Instead, I watch as he ducks and plants one on her cheek.

"You're sneaky," She says, wagging her fingr. "If you ever cheat on Konan, I'll seriously cut your dick off."

"You'd have to get in line beind Konan if that ever happened. Listen, Kin, I'll call Shikamaru and see what's up. He's not havin' an affair."

"Anyone home?" Shikamaru's voice echoes through the house.

I swear it's like everything went into slow motion. My chair scrapes against the floor as I make a quick move to help Itachi restrain Kin so she doesn't go all ape shit on Shikamaru. When Suma wants to get involved, I hold a hand up to stop him.

"This is normal," I tell him.

"For who?" He responds.

"I wasnt cheatin' on you," Shikamru says, looking like a mess. "Tatsuya wanted someone to talk to after she broke up with her boyfriend, thats all. Stop actin' like a jealous wife."

"I'm not jealous," Kin cries out, clawing through us to get tom him.

"Dumbass, get a clue. When an ex-girlfriend want to talk to you, that code for "I want you back'." 

The doorbell rings again.

"I'll get it," Itachi says. I'm not paying attention until his loud, commanding voice carries arcoss the house, saying. "Sasuke, you have a vistor."


	23. No More Invisible Protective Armor

**Chapter 23: Giving Chances**

**Sakura's POV**

I stood outside Sasuke's house for a few minutes before I got up the nerve to ring the bell. They're obviously having a party. I can see a house full of people through the front window.

Itachi answered the door. He takes one look and smiles, nodding his head. He knows why I'm here. Damn, this is embarrassing. But then he calls Sasuke to the door. My heart pounds in anticipation.

Sasuke comes to the door with a big red lipstick mark on his cheek. "What are you doing here?" He asks, his voice tense. He's obviously not happy to see me.

"Come on in," Itachi says, putting his arm around me and urging me inside. "You still got that lipstick crap on your face, bro." He mumbles to Sasuke as we pass him.

Sasuke curses, then starts wiping his cheek vigorously. "My cousin likes to mark us," He explains. "It's kind of an unnecessary and annoyin' tradition.

I pass a police officer standing next to Sasuke's mom, Mikoto, Sai is here, too, along with another couple. The couple must be having a heated argument, because they don't look happy with each other.

Sai points to me. "Is this the girl?" He asks, smiling. "The one from the poem."

"What poem?" I ask, suddenly curious.

"there's no poem." Sasuke insists. "My brother is delusional from the pain meds he's on. Don't listen to him."

"Are you okay?" I ask sai.

Sai lifts his pant leg, revealing a nasty cut stiched together with a row of staples traveling from his thigh all the way down to his calf. "This is proof that freedom ain't free."

"Ouch. How did that happen?" I ask, cringing. Just looking at it is painful.

"Strapnel from a terriost," he narrows his eyes at me. "Girl, you Japanese?"

"Sai.!" Mikoto calls out in a scolding tone.

"Seriously bro, shut up." Sasuke says.

"What is it a crime to ask a girl if she's Japanese or not?"

"No. it's just rude," Sasuke says.

Sai laughs heartily. "Bro, when have you known me for not being rude?" He looks back at me. "Is that your natural hair color?"

I answer Sai. "Well, yes this is my hair color, and I'm more American than Japanese. Does it matter?"

"Only if you deny your heritage. Dont want to dilute the culture, you know."

"Sai, is the one to talk," Itachi chimes in. "His girlfriend is as white as they come."

"Are you kiddin' Itachi? Have you looked at your lily-white wife lately?" Sai argues playfully.

"Hey," Itachi says. "Before you rip on white people, you might want to remember that your nephew is half white."

"Not the half that counts," Sai says proudly. "Listen, I'm an American and fight for this country, but that don't mean I ignore my Japanese heritage like it's somethin' to be ashamed of,"

"I'm not ashamed of it," I say. "I don't know Japanese of walk around flashing Japanese gang signs. I'm not going to fake it, when I don't know much about it."

"It's not too late to learn," Sai mumbles.

"Sasuke, are you going to introduce me to your friend?" his mother cuts in.

Sasuke hesitates, so I step forward. "I'm Sakura." I say with a bright smile.

"Sakura Haruno," Itachi says. "Dr. Haruno's daughter."

"Ah I remember you," Mikoto says. "Weren't you at Itachi's wedding?" I silently pray she doesn't mention that I kneed Sasuke's nuts on the dance floor. That's an incident I'd rather not dredge up right now.

Sai isn't going going to let this slip by. He perks up. "Oh, yeah.! Sakura, weren't you the one who kicked Sasuke in the-"

"Sakura goes to my school." Sasuke explains. "We have all the same classes, but I only see her in chemistry."

So now everyone is slient, waiting for me to talk. I turn to Sasuke and mumble quietly. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah. Follow me." I follow him through the kitchen and out the back door. He faces me. "Alright," he says. "Talk."

I clear my throat and look up at the sky, knowing that Sasuke wants to go up there someday. Will he pursue his dream, or has he changed his plans?

"I was thinking about what you said in chemistry today. You know, the part about me judging you before I had all the fact. Well, after thinking about it. . .you were right."

He shrugs. "It doesn't really matter."

"It does to me," I say.

"Why? You've made up your mind about me," He gives a short laugh. "Everyone has."

"Tell me right now you're not dealing drugs and I'll believe you. Look me in the eyes, and tell me the truth."

He bends down so that we're eye level. "I'm not a dealer," he says, his gaze not faltering one bi. "The drugs weren't mine. I'm not Kiba, so stop puttin' both of us in the same category."

"You're friends with him."

"I'm also friends with Naruto. Listen, I don't know what happened between you and Kiba. To be honest, I don't really want to know cause if I did I'd probably want to kick the shit outta him."

"I dont need you to protect me."

"What if I want to? I watch as he looks up to sky and stares at the stars. "Damn, Sak, you have no clue what crazy thoughts have been runnin' through my head since we were on Naruto's boat, and then after hookin' up Saturday night. . . You want to ignore what happened, but I can't."

"The truth is, I can't either." I swallow the lump forming in my throat. "I have to know if you're in the Sharingan, because if you are I can't do this."

When he doesn't answer, I look away. "Look at me," he says. When I do he sighs. "I'm not a gangbanger, Sak."

"You were right to call me out. I wanted to think the worst about you, because if I did I could ignore the connection I feel when we're together. It's like I get you, and you get me, and then Saturday night we were alone in the pool house-"

"You said it was just fun."

"I told you it was fun just to throw you off. Kankuro once told me most guys can screw a girl they love just as easily as they can have a one-night stand. Kiba was the last guy I dated, and he practically destroyed my heart. . . and soul and everything in between. It was more than fun Saturday night, Sasuke." I take a deep breath and prepare for what I'm about to say next. "I need to know if you think we can make it work."

"Wow. The way my week has been goin', that's the last thing I expected to hear." Sasuke runs a hand through his hair. I can sense the stress radiating off him. "My life is so fuckin' complicated right now."

"Sorry," I say. "I dont mean to complicate things more." I focus on the ground because I don't want to see his face when he tells me i'm delusional.

"It's not your fault." He takes a deep breath, then slowly lets it out. "Sak, I gotta be honest. I don't know if it's a good idea to get involved with me right now."

"I get it," I say. "You dont have to explain." He hadn't tried to hide the fact that he's a player from the second I met him. I was stupid to think getting closer to him and feeling a connection meant I'd suddenly changed him.

"No, you don't get it." The sides of his lips turn up in a small smile. My breath hitches when he reaches out and slides his hand to the back of my neck and urges me to look at him.

"I dont want to be with anyone else, baby. I want you as my girlfriend."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

His words soothe my increasing doubts. "I don't want to be with anyone else, either." I say.

I haven't wanted to let anyone get close to me, but that was before Sasuke came back into my life. Maybe this push-pull thing is us trying to figure out where we stand. Times have changed, I've changed, and I'm ready to put the past behind me.

A moment passes and I feel a sense of peace cover me like a blanket, I hope he doesn't see tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

"Come here," he says, pulling me close. "You're shaking."

I close my eyes and a tear falls down my cheek. Sasuke has manage to slice right through my invisible protective armor and I feel so vulnerable. "I'm scared."

"Me too." He holds me tighter, then kisses the top of my head.

It feels so good to be held again by him. I bry my head in his chest, soaking up the warmth of his embrace. I have to make sure this will last forever. "Promise me you'll always be honest with me, Sasuke?"

"I promise."


	24. Lies and Promises

**Chapter 24: Lies and Promises**

**Sasuke's POV**

The second lie I just told my new girlfriend is that I'd be honest with her. The first is that I'm not in the Sharingan. If she knew I have a task to do for Madara, and I'm ordered to pack heat to prove my allegiance, I'd lose her. I understand that makes me a selfish bastard, but i dont want to give up the chance at having Sakura a part of my life.

The back door opens. I's Konan, holding Daku in her arms. The second she sees us, she gasps. "Oops, sorry," She saysm backing up. "I didn't mean to interrupt. Daku was looking for you, Sasuke and your mom said you were outside. I didn't know you were with someone," She quints in confusion as recognition sets in. "Sakura Haruno, is that you?"

"Yeah," Sakura says, stepping away from me.

"Oh. Wow, okay. I didnt know you and Sasuke were, um, friends."

"We're kinda more than that," I tell my sister-in-law.

"What's going on? Are you guys like dating?"

I drape an arm around Sakura, because it feels right and I want her close. She looks up at me, and I swear I can stare into her innocent, sweet, green eyes forever. "Yeah, we're dating," I say without looking away from my girl. "Right, Babe?"

Our eyes are still locked on eachother as Sakura smiles up at me and nods.

"Does your mom know?" Konan asks.

"Not yet," I tell her.

Konan laughs. "I think she's got a pretty good idea. I caught her peeking out the window atleast a dozen times since I came in. I had no clue you were out here with a girl. . . which is completely explains why she was snooping. Mama Uchiha protects her boys like a mother hen. I'm sure I wont be any different when my son starts discovers girls. You remember that, Daku."

"Wasuke!" Daku yells, and squirms to get out of his mother's grasp.

"Daku, uncle Sasuke is busy," she tells him. "He can't play with you right now."

"It's okay," Sakura chimes in. "I have to go home anyway."

I glare at konan, signaling for her to get the hell out. She gets the clue.

"Oh, no! I wont interupt you." And with that, she ran inside.

"Aww! He's so cute.!" Sakura whines.

"So are you," I lean in to kiss her, and for an instant and image of us repeating this moment in the future flashes across my mind. . . me, Sakura, and a child of our own.

Sakura says, "I really have to go. We have school tomorrow, you know."

"I dont want you to go."

"I know that you made the soccer team. I could watch your practice after school. We can hang out after."

"I've got to do something after practice." A little task Madara gave me that Sakura doesn't need to know about. "But I'll meet you later on."

"Okay." She says, nodding. I can't tell if she's skeptical or not.

We walk back into the house. Everyone is, unfortunately, still here. And, unfortunately, all eyes on us. "I'm gonna walk Sakura to her car," I announce to my family.

Sakura and I walk to her car parked out front. She leans against her car door before opening it. "Hey," She says, then bites down on her bottom lip nervously.

"Hey."

"You know that's our routine, right?" she says. "You always say 'Hey' to me, and I say 'Hey' back. Or vice versa."

I smile. She would play attention to something like that. I look down at those sweet lips I'm dying to tast again. "Hey," I whisper as I bend down to kiss her.

"Hey," She whispers sofly against my lips. She puts a hsand on my chest. "Um. . .before we go ahead and make out. . . I think you should know that your family is watching us."

I glance back at the house. The lights are suddenly off, and I can make out the shadows of my family spying through the front window.

"This is embarrassin'." I mumble.

"So call me later?" she says as she opens her car door.

"Wait, aren't we gonna kiss?" Seriously, now that I have a girlfriend, I'm gonna reap the benefits. Hell, the way my week has been going I figure being liplocked with a girl I'm going insane for will actually keep me sane.

She gives me a peck. "There."

"My cousin, Kin's, stupid kisses are better than that, Sak. Come one, baby, throw me a bone here."

"I told you, we have an audience," she whispers shyly.

I shrug. "I don't care. Let's give 'em something worth watchin'. My back is facin' then, so they won't see much."

She wraps her arms around my neck.

I moan, loving the feeling of her body leaning against mine. It's dark and quiet outside with only the streetlights giving off a yellow glow. Sakura knows how to get me fired up with a mere touch of her lips, and she uses that to her advantage. Her soft lips brush against mine, over and over. We start making out. Good thing my back is hiding our hot embrace.

A car driving by honk repeatedly and stops beside her car, ruining the moment. "Gettin' lucky, Uchiha?" a familiar voice yells out the window.

It's Kiba.

Sakura freezes just as her tongue slides against mine. She pulls away and then buries her face in my chest in an attempt to hide her identity. My hands are braced against the car, sheilding her even though I know it's useless.

"What's up, Inuzuka?" I ask.

He sticks his head out the window. "Obviously not as much as you and Sakura. Just a tip: She likes it when you lick behind her ear."

"Thank for the advice, man, but I think I can figure that out on my own." I tell him. "Now get the fuck out of here."

Kiba's laugh lingers as he screeches away and disappears down the block. "Is he gone?" She asks, her voice muffled because she's still got her head buried in my chest.

"Yeah. Don't worry. I'll tell Kiba to lay off." I tip her chin up so I can get lost into her soulful green eyes again.

Right now my goal is to get pass tomorrow after socer pratice, When I'll be going into Evanston. I'ts my first errand for Madara and another way to prove that I'm willing to take the risks for the Sharingan. I'd be lying if I didnt admit a part of me was looking forward to the challenge.


	25. Threats and Promises

**Hey you guys i'm back! So sorry I haven't been updating I had to do some school work! Well, hope you guys enjoy and love you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto =(**

**Chapter 25: Threats and Promises**

**Sakura's POV**

In the morning, I wake up and immediately turn my phone on, hoping to get a text from Sasuke. I get butterflies in my stomach just wondering if he might be thinking about me when he woke up this morning.

A text pops up on the screen. It's from Sasuke. I can;t help but grin widely when I read his perfectly thought-out message.

**Sasuke: Hey**

The message was sent twenty minutes ago. I quickly type the only appropriate response and press send.

**Me: Hey**

I rush to the bathroom, but bring my phone with me just in case he texts me back. While I'm brushing my teeth, I hear the chime on my phone. Another text. I hurry to finish brushing, then pick up my phone.

**Sasuke: u ok?**

**Me: bout what?**

**Sasuke: Us. Me.**

**Me: yeah. Why?**

**Sasuke: just checking. **

At school, Sasuke and I sit on the floor in front of my locker before the bell rings.

I sigh in exasperation.

"I didnt do my math homework last night," I tell him as I pull out the sheet Mr. Wason gave our class. "After I got home I couldn't concentrate. I hardly understand it anyway. My brain doesn't compute calculus. I don't even know why we have to learn it. It's not like I'm going to use it in real life."

"Depends on what you do for a livin'." Sasuke slides the sheet onto his lap and studies it. "Come on, we have twenty minutes before the bell rings. I'll help you finish it."

I try hard to focus on anything else but him. I move my hand over his and draw invisible circles on the back of his hand with my fingers.

"You're distracting me." He says.

"I know."

He chuckles, then pulls his hand away. "Don't you want credit for the homework?"

I kiss him. "Yeah, but I'd rather just hang out with you."

"I don't want my girlfriend flunking math and having to take it over in summer school." He taps the paper with his pen. "Focus."

"Okay, okay" I put my pencil on the paper, ready to work. "I'm focused."

We work until there's ten minutes before the bell rings. All I know is that Sasuke has the patience of a saint. He was able to explain stuff to me at my level, instead of Mr. Wason's way which is way too confusing.

"Thanks," I say as I slip the sheet into my folder.

"Sit with me at lunch today," he says.

"With your friends?"

"Yeah." he laces his fingers through mine.

"Uhh, I don't really get along with them. They hate me."

"It'll be fine, I promise."

He kisses me, and turns around to walk away, but I grab his arm. "Wait." I call. He turns back around and look at me.

"Yeah?"

I bit my bottom lip. "Uhh, I just, you know, need to say something before I leave. I don't want to be worrying about it all day."

"Hit me with it."

"I won't have sex with you." I blurt out.

I swear I see his face grow hot, I probably hurt his precious libido. His eye twitches. "Like ever?"

I shrug. "I just don't want our relationship to be about sex and nothing else," I say. "Id we remove the sex expectation right now, it'll be better."

"I don't want us to be all about sex either, Sak, but I got to be honest. . . I was hoping it'd be part of it at some point."

I glance to my left and right hoping that noone is listening, "I just can't. Too many complications, you know?"

"No, I dont know. Do I even want to know? Shit, is this Kiba, or is this all about me?" He asks. I wasn't really expecting that so I don't know how to take it. He probably sees the hurt on my face because he sighs and take my by the waist.

"I'll understand if the no sex thing is a deal breaker for you," I say. He shakes his head and laughs.

"I'm not gonna lie, just lookin' at you, sak, makes me horny, but it's more than that. I like you. A lot. Enough to want to call you my girlfriend. I like just sitting with you and talking. The rest will come when you're ready, kay?" He says. Awww, that's so sweet! I just wanna take him and kiss him right here!

I smile, and nod. He sighs. "Alright, i'm cool with the no sex rule, but, uhh, can we keep the option open to talk about in the future? You know, just in case you change your mind."

I shrug. "yeah." I reach up and give him a big kiss on the lips. "But don't hole your breath that I will. We can do other things, though."

I can tell he's interested. He raises and eyebrow. "Like what?"

"I'll show you later." I whisper against his lips and then go right back to making out with him. Hinata and Naruto come walking down the hallway. "I guess you two worked things out last night, huh?" Hinata says.

I squeeze Sasuke's hand. "Yep."

Sasuke and I part when the bell rings. I know I'm not going to see him until lunch, because for some reason, even though we're in all of the same classes, we never see eachother. But I do see Kiba. He's in my gym class. I usually ignore him and he ignores me.

Today I'm not so lucky.

"So you've finally found another guy to obsess over? Kiba asks as we run around the track surrounding the football field. I run faster, but he keeps up with me. Mr. Gai-Sensei, our gym teacher, is holding a stopwatch. "Keep up the good pace," he calls out as we pass him.

"This thing with you and Sasuke won't last, you know." Kiba says. He stops talking as a couple of runners pass us. "When he dumps you, are you gonna make him feel like dirt and turn everyone from the north side against him, like you did me?"

I didn't turn anyone against Kiba. We broke up the same time he joined the Sharingan. Coming to school with gang tattoos didn't really help his popularity with the people I hang out with. I know almost everyone on the north side ignored Kiba after we broke up. I just don't think it had anything to do with the breakup and everything to do with him flaunting his gang affiliation.

I keep running, ignoring every word that comes out Kiba's mouth. I wish I had headphones in my ears to block him out completely.

"If you tell Sasuke what I said, I'll pass around that naked picture I took of you on my cell." He leans in close. "When I told you I deleted it, I lied."

Tears threaten to sting my eyes, but I hold them back. When gym is over, I rush to the locker and pray that Kiba was bluffing.

At lunch, I spot Sasuke in the hall just as we're entering the cafeteria. "Hey." he says.

"Hey. I'm eating lunch in the library today," I tell him. "I've got to study, and I can't do it when everyone is around. I'll see you in chemistry, okay?" I need to get away from Kiba and his threats.

He starts to follow me. "I'll go with you to the library."

"No." I say a little to fast. He looks at me, with a raised eyebrow, I laugh nervously. "Uhh, you're the biggest distraction for me right now. I need to focus."

"Seriously?" he asks, unconvinced.

"Seriously." I kiss him, loving the feeling of his lips on mine. We part and I start heading off to the library, thinking if about Kiba and his stupid threats. What is he does show the picture anyway? What will Sasuke think of me then?


	26. My Turn Now

**Chapter 26: My Turn Now**

**Sasuke's POV**

In chemistry, Kakashi-Sensei watches us like a hawk. Damn, that perverted man might not have made up those rules but he sure goes off on enforcing them. Today Kakashi is lecturing the entire class. I glance over at Sakura and find that she is looking right at me. She smiles. I'm the luckiest dude on earth. I'm gonna hate leaving her after practice today.

The bell finally rings, Sakura and I walk to our lockers together. "I'll meet you on the field," I tell her, then pull her close. She gives me a quick peck on the lips and leans back.

"Yeah, yeah okay." she walks away. Something is bothering her, and I wanna know what. I sigh and run a hand through my hair, I groan while walking down the hall to the locker rooms.

In the locker room, Jason comes up to me as I put my soccer jersey on.

"You know, Uchiha, nobody likes the idea of you and Sakura together," he says. "Well, besides Hinata and Naruto."

"I don't really give a shit what anyone thinks," I tell him. I sit down on the bench and get my cleats on, hoping that Jason will just disappear.

He doesn't.

He sits next to me. "You know her parents are gonna have a fit when they find out she's dating a guy in the Sharingan. I know you're one of them. . . no need to deny it. Just so you know, I'll be there to comfort Sakura when she realizes you're just another Japanese scumbag."

I finish fastening one cleats and put on the other. I don't anyone, especially Jason, interfering with my relationship with Sakura. I know Itachi and Konan had similar issues. All of their friends tried to warn them their relationship would end up in disaster, but in the end it didn't matter what anyone else thought. That's how I want it to be with me and Sak- the two of us figuring this out without interference from anyone else.

"You don't know shit, Jason."

"I know more than you think."

I finish tying my cleats and scan the area to make sure we're alone. "Yo, Jason. If you tell Sakura anything, I swear the Sharingan will be all over your ass." Without waiting for him to respond I head to the field, where the coach is having the team do laps for warm-up. Sakura is sitting in the stands with Hinata, watching us, with a bunch of other girls. She seems really bored, hints why she keep yawning every two seconds.

After practice, Kiba and I are talking about strategy as we walk out the locker room. Sakura is waiting for me in the hallway. Her smile fades when she sees Kiba.

"Hey," she says.

"Hey," I pat Kiba on the back. "I'll meet you in the car."

He sighs. "All right. But don't take long. We need to bounce, bro."

I nod and put my arms around Sakura and bend my head down to kiss her, but she pulls back. "You have plans with Kiba?"

"Yeah," I shrug. "He wants me to help him with something."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you to know, all right? Listen, you've got issues with the guy and I didn't want to piss you off, seeing that you're so not yourself lately. I'll come right after, I swear."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to question you." She pulls my head down and kisses me. "I have trust issues."

"I know," I tell her. "I'm on a mission to cure you of that." I put my arm around her and we walk to the parking lot together. Kiba is waiting out front in his car. He beeps when he sees me. "Come on, baka!" he yells impatiently out the window.

"I'll see you later," I say to Sakura, then kiss her again before sliding into Kiba's car.

A few minutes after we drive off, Kiba motions to his glove compartment. "Open it."

When I do, five little packets of white powder packed in blue cellophane stare back at me. "Madara want us to unload this shit for seventy-five dollars a pop. We get to keep twenty-five"

I slam the compartment shut. "Dude, that's coke. You know, that stuff I almost got busted for over the weekend."

"Tell me something I don't know. Here," he says, pulling out a sheet of paper with an address scribbled on it: 2416 Newberry Drive. "Madara said we could unload it by selling it to this thug."

We drive on, winding down the tree-lined curve road until we read Newberry. I'm silent the entire time, looking out the window at pedestrians and wondering what they think of us. Do they see two Japanese kids in the car and immediately think we're dealing drugs? Today they'd be spot on. It's not a big shipment that could put us in jail, but it's enough to get us arrested.

Madara's threat runs through my head. _'You're either with us or against us. You want to keep your family safe, don't you?'_

Yeah, I want to keep my family safe. I have to do this for my brothers, my nephew, my sister-in-law, and my mom. Doing drugs for the Sharingan is an obligation as much as it is a way to find out insider info. I'm pretty sure Itachi did it, I know Sai did it. . . now it's my turn.

It's still light out, so it's not hard to find the address. We arrive at the house. "This place is a dump," I say, staring at the random pieces of scrap metal and wooden skids piled up in the yard.

"I'll wait in the car," Kiba says.

I shove the packets in my pockets. I've never done anything like this before and I feel like a complete poser. "Why don't you do it?" I ask Kiba. "You're the veteran."

"Madara told me to make you do it. Something about you proving yourself." he checks his rear view mirror. "Look, I wouldn't be surprised it this guy is one of Madara's buddies checking up to make sure you're gonna follow through."

Shit. "You got my back?"

"Yeah. . . yeah, I got your back." Kiba is acting all cool, as if he's done this a thousand times and it's not a big deal. "Go on already. Stop stalling."

I reach into the small duffel I stashed Kiba;s car this morning and pull out the M9. I shove it into my waistband, then walk to the front door. On it is a sticker that says _NO SOLICTING. _I'm about to sell drugs. Is that soliciting? I could probably do a kick-ass essay on the topic, making an argument for and against it.

Okay, I am stalling. _You can do this, _I tell myself as my heart is pumping hard and fast. I ring the doorbell and hear footsteps as someone comes to answer the door. It opens. A guy with short gray hair and a bible in his hand, i'm gonna gues he hasn't showered in weeks, because he smells like shit.

"Who the hell are you?" the guy asks, slamming his bible shut.

Umm. . . what do I say? It's not easy thinking this stuff up on the fly. "Umm. . . I think I got stuff you want."

I mentally slap myself. I sound like an idiot.

"What kind of stuff?" the guy asks, unfazed at how stupid this conversation sounds. I start to pull one of the packets out of my pocket when the guy grabs my shirt and pulls me into his house.

"Don't ever do that again, you hear? Cops drive around these parts lookin' to bust guys like you. He sees you flashing coke and you and I will both be arrested. All right, how much?"

"Three seventy-five for all of them."

"How about three-fifty?" he counters.

He obviously thinks I am a rookie. I am, but if Madara is monitoring this, I better not back down. If I do this, my loyalty will be questioned.

"What the fuck do you think I am, a wholesaler?" I say in a pissed-off tone, slipping into the tough gang member role easily. "Three seventy-five or I'm out." Listen, as long as I'm here, and risking it all, I might as well get the full amount. "I've got ten more guys who'll give me four G's for shit this pure. Either you take it, or they will."

He hesitates for a split second. I take my chances and go for the bluff, heading for the door.

"Okay fine!" he calls out. "I'll be back with the money. Just. . . just wait right there."

the guys comes back in the room with a bunch of bills in his hand. "Here," he says, shoving the money at me.

Do I count it now, before I leave, or is that considered a dis? I don't know the protocol here so I'm making this shit up as I go along. I briefly glance down at the money, then hand of the coke.

As I walk back to the car my heart is still pounding. This adrenaline rush gives me a natural high that makes me feel invincible, like I felt when I beat Jason and his crew up. The chance I'll get busted by a cop with drugs that wasn't mine is rare, but lying to Sakura and my family could have worse consequences.

"Let's get out of here," I tell Kiba as I slide into the passenger seat.

I get a text as we speed away from the house.

**Sakura: Hey. What u up to?**

I don't answer.


	27. Vistiting The Dogs

**Chapter 27: Visiting The Dogs**

**Sakura's POV**

I tell Sasuke to meet me at the animal shelter. When he pulls up on a motorcycle, I do a double take. He pulls off his helmet and walks over to me.

"Is that your motorcycle?" I ask him.

"It's my cousin Shikamaru's. He let me borrow it. He said I could work at his auto body shop a few days a week since he knows I lost my job at The Orange Club and business has started to pick up." He puts his arms around me and holds me for a long time. "I missed you, even if you do smell like wet dog."

"I gave Miko a bath."

"Miko?:"

"She's me favorite dog here. You want to meet her?"

"Definetely."

"Come on," After introducing him to the staff, and Shizune, I take him back to Miko's cage. "Isn't she adorable?" I ask as I bend down and pick her up. "She's blind, but she can hear you perfectly."

Sasuke takes her from me. "Yo, Miko, what's p?" she nuzzles her nose into his shirt as he pets her. "You want to take her home, don't you? He asks me.

"How did you know?"

"By the way you look at me, i'm kinda jealous."

I laugh. "My parents don't want me to get a dog, but I'm working on them. T think they'll cave soon. I even had them come meet her." I look off into the distance. "I think they're afraid I'll freak out when she dies."

"Will you?"

I stroke Miko behind her ear. "Yeah, probably."

"How long does Miko have left?"

"How long does any of us have left?" I ask him, getting a thoughtful smile from Sasuke in return.

I introduce him to the puppies. "Everyone love the puppies."

"Except you. You love the pathetic ones, like Miko."

I push him playfully. "She's not pathetic, she's needy."

"I took psych last year. If I was a psychologist, I'd probably diagnose you as a person who likes to fell needed."

"That's a fair assumption," I admit. It's better than being needy. "What about you, ? Are you needy?"

"I can be if you want me to." he says, which makes me laugh.

I show him the makeshift studio I set up to take pictures of the dogs to post on the adoption website I created. I pick up the camera and show him the pictures I took of all the dogs in the shelter.

"Amanda sleeps a lot, so I put a pillow down and had her lie on it," I explain. "And Buster loves to play catch, so I took this one with three balls in his mouth so people would know he's a playful guy. I try to show the personality of each dog in the pictures."

"I'm impressed," he says, eyeing me with admiration as he scans through the pictures. "These are good. I can see them in a book."

"My goal is to get them adopted," I tell him.

"You're a saint."

I immediately think of the picture that Kiba said he didn't delete. "I'm far from it. I've done some really dumb things in the past."

"We all have," he holds out his hand. "Remember these scars? I wasn't lying when I said I got bitten by a snake and fell off a cliff right before my brother's wedding. I didnt wear a harness."

"Why not?"

"Because I live living on the edge sometimes. Don't you?"

"No. Not anymore, at least." he keeps flipping through the pictures. The last one in the camera is of Miko. I didn't do her justice. "Wait here.' I get Miko and put her in my arms. "Sit over there with her."

He sits by the light and pets Miko while I snap pictures. When he turns her over and scratches her stomach while she lies upside down and practically smiles into the camera, I know I have the perfect picture.

Miko might be blind and old, but she's the perfect pet for me. The fact that Sasuke is smiling warmly as he pets her makes me want to print out a copy and put it on my wall at home. I feel like she's already mine.

"Your turn," he says, giving Miko to me. I hold her while he takes a picture of us on his cell phone.

My mom calls me telling me I have to get home, to eat dinner. "I've got to go," I tell him.

Sasuke and I head out to the now empty parking lot.

"Do you think we're rushing into things?" I ask him.

"Don't stress about it. It's all good." he slips the helmet over his head and revs the engine to his motorcycle.

"Don't kill yourself riding that thing.!" I yell.

He gives me a thumbs up, then waits until I get into my car before speeding out of the parking lot.

I come to realization that my boyfriend is an adrenaline junkie. Can I keep up with him?


	28. Soccer Games & Treasure Hunts

**Chapter 28: Soccer Game & Treasure Hunts**

**Sasuke's POV**

High school soccer games don't usually have police and security guards at the, except when Suna high plays Konoha high.

Our team is pumped on Saturday morning when we play Suna. We're rival schools and rival towns with rival gangs.

I guess after an incident where a Suna player got stabbed by a Konoha high player last year, they decided to hire police to patrol the stands and the sidelines just in case all hell breaks loose.

In the end, we win five to four. Itachi, Konan, Sai, and Daku stay after the game to talk to some old friends from Konoha High.

I'm holding Daku when Karin and a bunch of her friends walk up to me. "Cute kid," she says.

Daku is a complete chick magnet. He gives them all high fives, and even calls Karin 'Baby' like Itachi calls Konan. It actually sounds like 'Ba Ba' and the girls find it hilarious.

Man, the kid already knows how to flirt with the chicks. My nephew is advanced in that department, but I wouldn't expect anything less from an Uchiha.

Sai is standing next to me, shaking hands with a dude I've seen before. "Tell your sister I said hi," he tells the guy.

"Who was that?" I ask after the guy walks away.

"Temari's brother."

Temari. His ex. I don't know if he's seen her or talked to her since they broke up years ago. I do know that Sai was obsessed with the girl and had pictures of her taped above his bed. I know Sai was bummed when she broke up with him and would have done anything to get her back. That was before Ino was in the picture, though.

I look around for Sakura. She's standing in the bleachers talking to a couple of her friends.

"Hey, Sak!" I yell to her.

She glances at me, then looks away.

What the hell?

I'm still holding my nephew as I walk up to her. "What's up?"

Her friends say a quick hello, then scatter.

Sakura crosses her arms on her chest, her hot, sexy, attitude clawing its way to the surface. "To be honest, I'm kind of jealous you were all chatty chatty with Karin."

"Seriously, you were jealous?" I ask amused. "That's cool." It means she cares.

"It's not funny. You were flirting with her."

"I was not. Daku was. I don't know if you could blame a kid who's not even two years old, though." I cock my head to the side and change the subject. "Did you see the two goals I made for you?"

"For me?"

"Didn't you see me point to you after I made them?"

"You were pointing to the sky, Sasuke. Towards god."

"Same thing."

"It was not, and you know it." she takes Daku from me. My nephew plays with her pink hair, and suddenly I'm the one jealous. "Why are you making a joke out of this?" she asks.

"Because it's stupid, Sakura. There's not even room in my day to think about someone else." Daku starts kissing her on the cheek with big. Sloppy wet ones. "He's sucking up to you."

"At least someone is."

"You trying to fight with me? Before you answer, I find it ridiculously sexy when you've got an attitude."

"Just. . . forget it," she says. "If you don't even recognize that you're a flirt, then it's useless to even talk about it."

My brothers laugh when they see her giving me the cold shoulder. "Oh man," Sai says. "I think our little bro is in big trouble."

Sai drapes his arms around both of us. "Kiss and make up, you two. Ino is coming here in less than an hour and I've got a task for you guys. You too Itachi."

"What kind of task?" I ask.

"I need you to dig for Mikoto's jewelry box."

Oh, no. Not this again. When Sai was younger he thought it would be brilliant to pretend he was a pirate hiding his treasure. Mikoto's jewelry box doubled as the booty.

Ended up it wasn't such a brilliant idea because Sai forgot where he hid the box. Mikoto's wedding ring and every piece of jewelry she'd owned was in there. For years we dug in that small wooden area by our house and came up empty-handed.

"I don't think Sakura is gonna want to go treasure huntin'." I say.

"I don't mind." she says. "Where is it?"

"That's a good question. I hid it by the ravine near our house." Sai rubs the top of his crew cuts and winces. "I, uhh, kinda need it bad. Ino's coming and, well, I just need the damn thing. I tried looking this morning, but my damn leg gave out."

When Sai leaves to go pick up Ino from the airport, the rest of us head over to the ravine with shovels.

Sakura made me pick up this German shepherd from the shelter named Hank so he can help with the search, because she swears she can tell he was specially trained at one point in his undocumented life.

In the woods above the ravine, Itachi sections the place out. Itachi, Konan, and I are not optimistic. But Sakura and Hank have enough optimism and energy for all of us.

Hank sniffs the air and heads over to the sticks and leaves as he and Sakura head to their designated section.

Konan waves the small garden shovel in the air, like she's raising her hand. "How deep do we have to dig?" she calls out.

"I don't know," Itachi tell her. "I figure not too deep cause Sai was a kid who hated breaking a sweat."

I start digging, spacing my holes about ten inches apart in a grid pattern so I don't miss anything. They jewelry box was white, so it should be easy to find.

I look over at Sakura. She's talking to the dog and instructing him to 'go find it!'. Seriously, is a dog supposed to know what it means? I laugh as Hank sniffs away. She's so intent on her task, she doesn't look up.

Which means I can watch her.

I know what she's thinking. In her mind, Sai needs her. He's desperate to find the jewelry box, and I know she's more than motivated to find it for him.

I wouldn't be surprised if she dug in every spot Hank sniffs until darkness falls. My girl is on a mission. I don't have the heart to tell her that Hank might be sniffing for a place to shit, not because he's actually following a scent.

I wonder what she'd say if I told her I need her, too.

After twenty minutes and about five false alarms, I hear Sakura screaming, "I think Hank found it.!"

My head pops up and I see Sakura on her knees, waving her arms back and forth so we can see her. Sure enough, when I get close I see she's dug out a tiny section of what looks like it could be a jewelry box. Hank is barking now, crazy excited.

"That dog is a fucking genius, Sakura." Itachi says, taking his shovel and digging the rest of it out. Moments later, I help lift it free.

"I'm texting Sai and telling him we found it," I say as Itachi pries open the rotten top.

Sakura's got a huge grin as she praises Hank and gives him a treat she stashed in her pocket. I'm still in shock and can't believe the dog had anything to do with it. Maybe it was just plain luck, but then again, when I look down at the dog I think he's got a proud grin on his face.

Itachi takes out Mikoto's engagement ring and holds it up to the light shining through the trees. The diamond glitters in the light.

Back home, Sakura announces the good news to my mom. Mikoto opens the box and takes out her wedding band and engagement ring. She slips them on as tears run down her cheeks.

"It's been so long," she says, choking back the words. Daku asks her if she's got a boo-boo because she's crying. "Yes," she says to him. "I have a boo-boo."

Mikoto places the rings back in the dirty box just as Sai and Ino walk in the door. Ino is yelling at Sai for carrying her luggage in the house when he's not fully healed, but he's just ignoring her protest.

Ino should know by now that he's one stubborn motherfucker. They're checking into a nearby hotel later, but he didn't want her expensive luggage in the car while it was parked in front of the house.

"Are you two seriously fighting?" Itachi asks. "You haven't seen each other in over a year."

"We like to argue," Sai tells him. "It's one of the two things we do best. Right, babe?"

Ino rolls her eyes. "Remind me why I'm in love with you again?"

Sai gives her a mischievous grin as he pulls her close. "I'll show you later."

Ino seems content with that answer as she hugs me, Konan and Itachi.

"This is my girlfriend, Sakura," I tell her, then point ti the dirty dog panting on the floor. "And that's Hank the orphan."

Sakura isn't prepared for Ino to hug her like a long-lost sister, and then go over to pet Hank, who rolls onto his back for full exposure.

Konan and Itachi leave to pick up, Lucy, Konan's sister. She lives in a car facility for people with diabilities, but spends most weekends at Itachi and Konan's place.

Daku loves riding her wheelchair and has no clue she's disabled. Sakura and Lucy obviously know each other from previous interactions and when, Lucy arrives, immediately start chatting about dogs and the shelter.

Sakura promises to take Lucy to the shelter one day, which makes Lucy squeal in happiness and Konan smile with gratitude.

At dinner, when our entire family is together, it really hits me that Sakura and I are a couple. My arm rests on the back of Sakura's chair and she leans into me. I hate to admit it I'm falling hard and fast. Just the thought of losing her because of my involvement with the Sharingan stresses me out. Especially when I get a text from Kiba to meet him later tonight at the warehouse.

I reach for Sakura's hand and squeeze it tight under the table. She squeezes it back, and looks up at me.

"You okay?" she asks quietly while the rest of my family is pigging out. "You've been quiet ever since we got here."

"I was just thinking."

"About what?"

I lean in close and whisper in her ear, "Renegotiating the terms of our relationship."

Her face turns beet red and she whispers back, "We'll discuss that later."

"Just so you know, I got an A in debate," I tell him.

She looks up at me with a grin on her sexy ruby lips. "So did I."


	29. Starting To Fall Again

**Chapter 29: Starting To Fall **

**Sakura's POV**

On Monday, Sasuke surprises me by coming over to my house after soccer practice.

"You could have texted me" I tell him.

He shrugs. "Yeah, well ,I though you could use a calculus tutor. I'm offering my services." he says, then adds with not a small hint cockiness. "for free."

Oh man, I am in trouble. The more time I spend with Sasuke ,the more I want to be with him. I force to keep distant, and tell myself that I'm not going to let him get too close.

I'd like to, though. When he puts his arms around me, I protected and safe. my mind tells me it's a false sense security. I'm constantly trying to determine which of my emotions is centered on reality.

I even get the sense that when he says he's going to work at his cousin's auto body shop, he's actually doing something else. I'm probably being paranoid. I told him to be honest with me, and I want to trust him. But I have my doubts. It's easy to push all my doubts to the back of my mind when I'm with him, though.

"I do need some help in calc" I admit.

"Hi Sauske." Mom says as I lead him to the kitchen table where my books are spread out.

"Hi, Mrs. Haruno." Sasuke says politely.

"You two have been spending a lot of time together lately," she says, stating the obvious.

Sasuke nods. "Yes ma'am."

"Well, I hope it's not serious. Sakura has to concentrate on her college applications and keeping her grades up."

I cringe. "Mom, don't embarrass me."

"It's okay Sak" Sasuke tells me. "My ma said the same thing."

I'm tempted to prove to them both that we don't have to compromise our future just because we're together.

"Can Sasuke eat over, Mom" I blurt out, changing the subject before she asks him for his dating credentials. I know she worries about me, and doesn't want a repeat of what happened between me and Kiba.

Both my parents have grilled me about any boy I talk to. What they don't know is that all friendships I've had with guys after Kiba were just that-friendships. This thing with Sasuke. . . it's much more. But I told my parents we were just friends so they won't freak out.

"We're ordering Chinese, Sasuke." Mom says. "Do you like Chinese?"

He shrugs. "I can eat anything."

"You're more than welcome to join us for dinner." She says it without a smile on her face, like she's only saying it to be polite. I hope Sasuke doesn't notice. She looks at our schoolbooks spread on the kitchen table. "You guys better get cracking on that homework."

Sasuke and I sit at the kitchen table. He help me with my calculus, then moves across the table to start on his homework. I'm working on poem for language arts.

Our teacher said we should write about someone who had and impact on our lives, whether it was good or bad.

I want to write about Sasuke, beacuse he makes me want to change. . . he makes me want to love again. I'm still holding back, but to be honest, I don't want to.

I glance at Sasuke for inspiration.

I catch him checking me out at the same time. Nervous butterflies flutter im my stomach as I fantasize about what it would be like if we were alone together.

I expect him to look away, but he doesn't.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"I'd ask you the same thing." he says.

"Do you work," I tell him trying not to let on that I'm tempted to go sit on his lap and wrap my arms around his neck.

He looks down at his social studies folder. "I can feel your eyes on me," he says after a minute.

"Sorry." I stare at the blank page and start my poem. My first attempt is about a here, who has come to save me before my heart turns completely to ice and cracks in a million little pieces never to be healed. No, that sounds too paranormal. I hop what I have with Sasuke is real, but after my bad judgement in the past, I don't trust my instincts.

"Want to come over on Sunday?" he asks me. "Mikoto will be at work, and my brother are gonna barbeque."

"Sounds. . . great."

"I'm gonna warn you, though. Sai is pretty a bad mouth. He'll probably embarrass you." He laughs when he sees my expression. "It's not what you think. He'll interrogate you."

"I'm sure." I say, unconvinced.

When my mom goes to pick up the Chinese food, I bite my lip wondering if I should bring up The Talk. I look up at Sasuke and know I'm going to have a hard time keeping to my original conditions.

"Umm. . . didn't you challenge me to a debatr or something like that the other night"

his head shoots up. "Yeah. I'm ready."

I laugh. "For what?"

"The debate, or, you know. . . whatever you're ready for. . . I'm all in."

"This isn't the World Series of poker."

"I know what it is."

I twirl my hair on my finger nervously. "I have to admit I've been thinking about being with you a lot."

"Me too. Come here." He pulls his chair out and motions for me to sit on his lap. Hoping my mom won't come in, I sit on his lap and wrap my arms around his neck. I look down at his dark, mesmerizing eyes. "Sak, I won't hurt you. I'm gonna ditch you afterward."

"I know. It's just hard for me and . . . I'm afraid."

"Of what" He rubs my back affectionately. "Talk to me."

I dont say wha's really on my mind. _Kiba. The miscarriage. The betrayal. My secrets. Sasuke secrets. _I'm afraid of making myself vulnerable. I bury my face in his neck and squeeze tight. Despite all my inhibitions and all my suspicions, I'm falling for Sasuke. Being able to resist him physically is beginning to be impossible.

"Just so you know. . . I'm not on the pill or anything." I say softly.

"I've got condoms," he says, then smiles sheepishly. "Not on me, of course. I'm not one of those dobes who carries one around just in case."

Who better to get over the past than with someon I want to be with. . . someone who I'm starting to fall in love with. I lean in and whisper in his ear, "I'm nervous."

He reaches up and cups my face with his palm. "You need to trust me."

"I don't know if I can."


	30. Sai & Ino

**Chapter 30 : Sai & Ino**

**Sasuke's POV**

I'm not sure asking Sakura to come over on Sunday was the best idea, especially when Sai decides to grill my girlfriend and embarrass the shit outta me.

"So, Sakura." Sai says the second she walks in the house. "Did you know Sasuke stares at a picture of you and some dog for about an hour before he goes to sleep? I swear he takes it in the bathroom with him, too, but I don't know what the hell he's been doing in there with it."

Sai was never one to listen to directions. I told him this morning not to say stupid shit to Sakura. I should have known that wasn't gonna happen.

"Don't listen to him, Sak." I tell her.

"I second that," Ino says, giving Sai the evil eye. She whacks him in the stomach. "Don't embarrass them, Sai."

"I think she should be flattered to know how much my little bro likes her," he says innocently.

"It's kind of a coincidence," Sakura says, unfazed. "Because I look at Sasuke's picture all the time, too." she looks at me and winks.

The entire house goes quiet. Damn, I didn't know my girl could hold her own against Sai. She looks up at me adoringly. "Great minds think alike. Right, Sasuke?"

Damn straight. I wink at her and take her hand in mine. "Definitely."

Her eyes light up, and when the sunlight shines through the front window and hits them, I notice her green eyes have blue specks inside.

Sakura tilts her head to the side and asks Sai. "So, when are you and Ino getting engaged? Sasuke told me you two have been dating for a long time."

Go, Sakura! My girl can hold her own, that'll teach my brother not to stick his nose where I doesn't belong.

Itachi, who just came in from the kitchen, can't hold in his laughter. "She's got you there, bro."

"Yeah, Sai?" Ino chimes in. "When are we getting engaged?"

Sai clears his throat. And moans in defeat. "Can we talk about this later?" he asks, then narrows his eyes mockingly at Sakura. "Warn me next time I get the urge to embarrass you and Sasuke."

Sakura gives him a thumbs up. "Will do."

After we eat, we play a game of kickball. Couples against couples. Me and Sakura win of course.

As we're celebrating, a car drives up with a bunch of girls inside. The car stops and a girl gets out. She's got a huge grin on her face and is walking with a sway of her hips as she makes a direct beeline towards Sai.

"Sai.!" she says, excitedly. "I can't believe it's you! My brother told me you were back, but. . . well, my friends and I were about to go to the city, but I made them make a detour. I had to check for myself to see if it's true."

It's Temari, my brother's ex from high school.

My brother's eyes go wide in shock. "Holy s-h-i-t, Temari. It's been a long time. How the h-e-l-l are you?" he points to Daku. "Gotta watch the language around my nephew."

She laughs. "Hanging in there. Going to school for nursing. What about you?"

"I'm in the army. Stationed in the Middle East, but I'm on leave."

"Wow." She makes a point of licking her lips as she checks him out. "You look great."

"You look great, too. The same as I remember, and them some."

"You still single?"

He holds up his left hand and points to his ring finger. "Yep. Still a bachelor."

"Awesome." One of her friends calls to her. "I got to go, but if it was seeing you." She pulls out a card from her purse. "Call me sometime. My number's on the back. I'd love to catch up."

"Cool," he says, shoving the card in his back pocket.

We all watch as my brother's ex-girlfriend wraps her arms around him and hugs him tight. There are a few kind of hugs. A short, impersonal "obligatory" hug. A medium-length "it's good to see you" hug, and then there's the kind that Temari is currently giving my brother. It's a lingering, "I want to be more than friends" hug/squeeze combo.

I look over at Ino, standing beside Konan, absolutely aware of the kind of hug Temari is giving Sai.

"Really, call me." she calls out as she goes back to her friends.

When Sai finally turns around and faces us, he msut see the look of shock on our faces. I think nobody wants to talk first, because we don't know what to say.

Ino finally does the talking.

She holds up her left hand and shows off the "no ring" finger. _"Still a bachelor!"_ she says sarcastically, mimicking him. "Are you kidding me?"

"What?" he says, clueless. "It's the truth. What do you want me to do, lie to her?"

"No, I want you to press your bodies together and grind like you were doing."

"I didn't grind against her. It was an innocent hug good-bye."

"Innocent? Honey, that hug was anything but innocent."

"Ino, you're overreacting. You want to argue, it that what this is about? Cause I'm leaving soon and we won't be seeing eachother for at least six more months. The last thing I need is you creating drama."

"No, I don't want to argue. And I'm not creating drama, Sai, you are." Ino's nostrils flare in fury, and I notice her eyes were getting watery. But she doesn't lash out at him, or start brawling. Instead she just says, "Maybe you should get back with Temari. I think she'd like that."

"Is that what you want?"

"It seems like that's what you want. Why don't you take out that card and call her?"

"Maybe I will," he yells, pissed off now.

"Good. While you're at it, why don't you ask her to marry you. You obviously don't want to marry me." she says, then walks back to our house.

"Sai, I love you, but you can be the biggest idiot sometimes," Konan pipes in, then follows Ino.

Sakura steps back, says, "I'm gonna go with the girls," and jogs away from us.

Itachi and I both smile and wave to our girls. When their out of sight, we glare at Sai.

Sai holds his hands up. "What?" he asks defensively, completely oblivious.

"You just dissed Ino in front of Temari," Itachi says.

"I didn't dis her." he leans in and whispers. "I was making sure she didn't get a clue that I'm gonna propose to her."

"You could've at least introduced her as your girlfriend."

Sai glares at Itachi. "Itachi, the last thing she'd want to do is meet Temari."

"He doesn't get it, "I murmur.

Itachi braces his arms on Sai shoulders. "Does Temari think you have a girlfriend?"

"Why the hell would that matter?"

"Because, Sai, she was flirting with you big-time."

"So what? Girls flirt with me all the time. That doesn't mean I cheat on Ino. She knows I wouldn't fuck around on her."

"Other girls aren't your ex, dumbass," Itachi says. "No go apologize to Ino, and fix this. Beg if you have to."

"She thinks you don't want to marry her." I add.

"Shit," Sai says. "I asked you all to look for Mikoto's jewelry box cause she said if we finally found it I could give Ino the ring dad gave mom. It's at the jeweler getting cleaned. I was gonna take her to the beach tomorrow and propose." he rubs the back of his neck and lets out a long, slow breath. "I gotta figure this out."

Back in the house, the girls are standing in the front yard. Ino puts on a brave face, but it's obvious she's been crying.

"You told me you were over Temari," Ino tells Sai. "But that's obviously not true. I'm going back to Colorado tonight. I'm tired of waiting for something that's never going to happen."

"I was over Temari the second you put those stupid cookie magnets in my locker in high school," Sai tells her.

"I don't believe you."

"I wanted to make it special for you, but what the hell. . . I might as well do it now." Sai takes a deep breath. "Marry me, Ino," he blurts out in front of everyone.

"Why?" she asks, challenging him.

"Because I love you," he says, walking up to her and bending down on one knee while he takes her hand in his. "and I want to go to sleep with you every night and wake up seeing your face every morning. I want you to be the mother of my children, I want to fix cars while you standing there criticizing everything I do, and eat your crappy noodles that have salt in it that you think is Japanese. I want to climb mountains with you and be challenged by you, I want to argue with you just so we can have crazy hot makeup sex. Marry me, because without you I'd be six feet under. . . and because I love your family like they're my own. . . and because you're my bestfriend and I want to grow old with you." He starts tearing up, it's weird because I've never seen him cry. "Marry me, Ino Yamanaka, because when I got shot the only thing I was thinking about was coming back here and making you my wife. Say yes, baby."

Ino is crying now. "Yes!" she says.

We all give our congratulations and talk to a couple of neighbors across the street who witness the whole scene, but when I turn back around I notice that Sakura disappeared.

"Where's Sakura?" I ask Konan.

Konan points to the house. "I asked her to go in your closet and get me on of your zippered hoodies. I'm freezing."

My closet? Oh, hell. I rush to my room and find Sakura searching for a hoodie hanging in my closet. If she sees the M9. . .

"Hey," I say, standing in front of her. I start closing the doors, blocking her from my suit. Is it in the same spot as I left it? I could play dumb, but I've never been able to pull it off successfully.

"Hey," she says back. "Konan told me to come in here and get a jacket for her."

"I'll get one," I say, steering her away from my closet.

Sakura looks at me, confused. "What's wrong?"

I've got a gun stashed in my closet. "Nothing."

"You sure? You look agitated."

"I am." I want to bang my head against the wall, because she's onto me. "I wanted to tell you something."

"What?"

Now I've got to come up with something on the fly. "I'm falling in love with you," I blurt out.

Oh, shit. Did that really come out of my mouth? I've never said that to a girl before, and promised myself that I'd never say it if I didnt mean it.

The scariest part is. . . I did.


	31. Recruited into the sharingan

**Chapter 31: Recruited into the Sharingan**

**Sakura's POV**

After Sasuke said the L word, I pretended that I heard Konan calling my name and practically ran out of his room. I ignored the fact that he it and he hasn't brought it up again.

On, Wednesday, I decided to go to work with him because we kind of need to talk about Sunday. I don't want to make a big deal about it, but I don't want to throw around the 'L' word like me and Kiba did.

Sasuke now works for his cousin. Shikamaru's Auto Body is located on the southside of California. It's on an intersection where gang members used to hang out. This particular ppart of Cali was famous for weekly drive-bys shooting when I was in grade school. Even though there was a front-page article in the local newspaper a while back about the absense of gang activity in recent years, I get an eerie feeling just being here.

"This is it," Sasuke says when we pull up to one of the three parking spaces out front.

My eyes zero in on the old, random bullet hole marks on the side of the building as Sasuke leads me inside. Shikamaru, who I met about two weeks ago, comes in. "Hey sakura," He says. I smile and waves back. A girl, who I reconize is Kin comes from the back room.

"Is Shikamaru in a gang?" I whisper when Sasuke and I are alone. "I saw his tattoos."

"He's an OG-Original Ganster . . . not too active anymore."

"What does that mean.?"

He shrugs. "It means he's an old-timer, not a foot soldier. OG's like Shikamaru only get called when there's something big going down. He pretty much stays to himself, but . . . you know . . . loyalty runs deep."

"What's the deal with him and Kin?" I ask, seeing them arguing not to far away, but can't really make out what they're saying.

"I don't know." He sits on one of those rolling dollies and pulls out tools from the toolbox. "But, out of my whole family, I think they're the most commited relationship. But her sister, Anko is another story, she's kind of hopelessly pining for the guy she was in love with in high school."

A pang of regret that I spent so much time hopelessly mourning my doomed relationship with Kiba settles inside me. It was a waste and I can never get that time back. "Was it a bad breakup?"

He stills. "They didn't actually break up. He died."

"That's so awful."

Sasuke doesn't look at me. "He was Itachi's best friend."

"How did he die?"

"He got shot."

Questions start swirling through my head. "By a rival gang."

"No. By his own gang." He looks sad as he sits on the wooden dolly and stares at the ground.

"I don't get it, Sasuke. Why would someone even join a gang?"

"Some people don't have a choice," he says before lying down on the dolly and rolling his upper body under the car.

I tap his leg.

He slides back out and looks up at me.

"There's always a choice. You didn't join a gang even though your brothers did." I lean down and kiss him. "You didn't take the easy way out. I love you for that."

He raises an eyebrow when the_ L _word escapes from my lips.

Oops. That was not supposed to happen.

"I didn't mean love as in _'I love you' _kind of way." I'm quick to point out, then slap my hand over my face to hide my embarrassment.

He sits up and gently nudges my hand down. "Don't worry, baby," he says, then winks at me. "I know what you meant. Listen, you don't know what my brothers went through. they did what they needed to do. Don't judge them. You don't know what it's like to be us . . . to be poor and live in the middle of a street war. You never had to live with drive-bys and wathing your bestfriend die in your arms. It sucks."

"You're right, I can't imagine what it's like. I'm just glad you're not a part of it."

He nods, then spends the rest of the time working while I watch.

"Can I help you?" I ask. I feel bad just sitting here while you're working."

His hand appears from under one of the cars. "Hand me the oil filter wrench."

I look at the tools laid out. Umm . . . they all look the same to me. I look back at his waiting hand. "You stumped me."

I hear him laugh. "Sorry. It's the thing that looks like a claw with red rubber handles."

Considering there's only one thing with red rubber handles, I have a pretty good idea which one it is. I pick it up and place it in his waiting hand.

When he's finished, he slides back out. "You remind me of Kin. She knows shit about carsm except how to put the key in the ignition."

I raise my hand. "I know how to do that."

"Please tell me your dad at least taught you how to change a tire."

"I don't have to know how to change a tire," I reach into my purse and pull out the hand card I always carry with me for those types of emergencies. "My dad got me a Triple-A membership for that."

He rolls his eyes. "You should know how to change a tire. Remind me to teach you one day."

We spend the rest of time talking. It's scary. The more I know about Sasuke, the more I like him. We're so totally different, but I _get _him. We never run out of stuff to talk about, and even when there's a lull in the conversation it's not awkward.

"Would you ever consider applying to GHU?" He asks me, when he's underneath the fourth car in line for an oil change.

He already told me that's his first choice of schools. "I don't know. It wasn't on my top list. Why?"

"I thought maybe, you know, if you and I were still . . ." His voiec drops off. "Forget it, Sak. I think I've breathed in too many oil fumes."

If we're still together by the end of the year, it would be great if we ould go to the same college. I feel so close to Sasuke right now, and we're growing loser every day. I have to remind myself not to get sucked in.

I need to tell him how I feel.

I tap his knee. "I think we're getting too serious."

"You're a pessimist," he says, rolling out from under the car again. "Have some faith." He pulls me down to him and caresses my back. I can feel the warmth of his hands penetrate through my shirt. "I have dirty hands." He says. "Your shirt is probably ruined."

The sound of footsteps coming toward us makes us part.

"What's up, man." Kiba says. He's standing with a huge scary-looking guy.

I clutch Sasuke's bicep tightly.

"You gonna introduce me to your friend?" the scary guy asks.

I can feel Sasuke's bicep flex. "Sakura, this is Madara. He's a buddy of mine."

Madara puts his cigar in the side of his mouth and stares at me long and hard. It makes me feel like he's assessing my value. "You go to Konoha high?"

"Yes."

"I've never seen you around before."

"She lives on the other side of town," Kiba chimes in. "Right, Sak?"

I nod.

"Listen, guys." Sasuke says. I sense that he's deliberately taking the focus off of me. "If you're lookinf for Shikamaru, last time I saw he was in the garage."

"I'm not looking for Shikamaru," Madara says. "I was looking for you, Uchiha. I've got a task for you."

I feel my heart stop beating as I realize what's happening.

Sasuke has been recruited into the Sharingan


	32. Bribes, Lies, and Not Trusting

**Chapter 32: Bribes, Lies, and Not Trusting**

**Sasuke's POV**

Sakura's shocked face when Madara said he was looking for me sasys she knows what Madara's visit is all about. She picks up her backpack and purse off the gound. "I need to go home. Now."

"What are you in a hurry for?" Madara asks. "You have a problem with me talking with your boyfriend?"

"No, she doesn't. Let's talk inside," I tell him. Damn. The last thing I want is Sakura to start asking questions again. Madara takes his time as he disappears into the shop. Kiba falls in line behind him.

I turn to Sakura. "I'll be right back," I tell her. "It's not what you think."

She's looking at me as is I'm a starnger, not her boyfriend. "I want to go home."

"I'll take you in a minute, Just . . . stay here," I say. "Please."

I walk inside, anxious to get rid of Madara and Kiba.

"Where did Madara go?" I ask Shikamaru. Kin is still here, talking to him as he works on her car.

"In my office." Shikamaru says. He can;t say anything against Madara because of his unwavering loyalty and honor he pledged to the Sharingan a long time ago.

Madara is sitting at Shikamaru's desk, like it's his own. Kiba is standing next to him, like a bodyguard.

I close the door just in case Sakura decides to listen in on our conversation. "All right, what's going down?"

Madara taps his ash right on Shikamaru's desk. "This guy owes me five Gs. I need you and Kiba to collect it. Tonight."

He reahes into his back pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. I scan the address. Augusta Lane. "That's deep in Sound's territory." I tell him.

"Yep."

All I an think about is the look of betrayal on Sakura's faec as I left her by the car outside. "I can't do into Sound territory without getting my head blown off," I blurt out.

"Yes, you can. And yes, you will." He gestures to the door. "That girl of yours out there looks real nice. I could use a hot chick like that to sell me over at GHU. Them college boys love to buy from pretty girls. Ain't that right, Kiba?"

Kiba nods. "That's right. Karin making a killing over there."

This is bullshit. "Sakura's off limits," I say, loud and clear so there's no mostaking that she's never to be thought of as and asset to the Sharingan. I'll be damned if I drag Sakura into the sharingan.

"It's time I let you in on a little secret," Madara says, sitting up now. "There's a safety-deposit box at California Community Bank with your name on it. Once you turn eighteen, you have access to it. I've got the key." He pulls out a shiny silver key from his pocket and slides it over to me. "After your birthday you're gonna get me whatever's in that box. You com back from Sound's territory and show me that you can handle the heat. Loyalty, Sasuke. You have to earn it, then you reap the benefits."

I pick up the key and put it in my back pocket. "Who put it in my name?"

"That's not important. What's important is you provin your loyalty." He lets out a stream of smoke. "You do this, and you'll see more money than you ever dreamed of, kid."

Kiba follows Madara out of the office. I step infront of him before he reaches the door. "What do you have to do with this, Kiba?" I ask him.

"I just follow rules."

"That's what you want to be, a follower?"

"I've got no other choice, and neither do you. This is big, Sasuke. I know it. Madara knows it. It's about time you get with the program." He pushes past me. "The sooner you break it off with Sakura, the better. She'll just complicate things. I'll meet you at the warehouse in an hour."

After he leaves, I scan the piece of paper with the address on it once more. My nerves are about to snap.

Sakura is waiting for me in the garage, talking to Kin. I don't want to lie to her anymore than I already have, but I don't want to risk losing her.

"Hey," I say as I walk up to her.

"Take me home, Sasuke." She orders. " I should have known not to trust you."


	33. Beggin For my Trust

**Chapter 33: Begging for my trust**

**Sakura's POV**

Trust. He begged for my trust, when all along he was affiliating himself with the Sharingan . . . with Kiba. My heart isn't melting. It's breaking.

I storm outside and straddle the back of his motorcyle. "Let me explain," Sasuke says. I shake my head, unwilling to listen. My suspiions were right all along. "It's not what you think."

Love. Is it just what boys use to manipulate girls?

"I don't want to listen to anything you have to say," I tell him. "If you won't take me home, I'll walk."

I start to get off the bike. He curses under his breath, then says. "You don't have to walk. I'll take you home."

I get on the bike again and grab the back instead of holding on to him. If I touch him, I could lose my nerve and let him explain why everything points to him being a Sharingan. I'm afraid I'll believe him, because I want to believe him. _It's not what you think. _he'd said.

He pulls up to my driveway. "Sak," he says as I hop off and head for the door. "Sak.!"

I stop, but don't turn around.

"You come from this rich family and live in this rich neighborhood. I don't. Guys like Kiba and Madara . . . they're my people."

"I'm your people, too," I murmur softly.

"Not in the same way," I feel his hands on my shoulders. "I'm not a Sharingan, Sakura." He turns me around holds out his arms. "See, I'm not marked. I'm not gonna say I'm not hanging with the Sharingan, but I'm not one of them."

"I don't want you hanging with them."

"That'e like me telling you not to hang with Hinata."

He's right, even if I don't want him to be. The Sharingan has a presence on the south side of California where he lives.

"I don't know, Sasuke." I say, stepping away from him so I can think clearly. "I have a feeling you're not telling me the whole truth. I need you, and I'm afraid you're already a Sharingan."

"I'm just hanging with them, that's all."

"I've been told that before. By Kiba. We all know how that turned out."

"Sakura, I'm not Kiba. I'm not in the gang. And I'm not gonna leave you."

I look into his eyes and all I see is sincerity. No deceit. "You better not be selling drugs, or we're through."

"I won't sell drugs," he says. "I promise."


	34. Sharigan's Code of Silence

**Chapter 34: Sharigan's Code of Silence**

**Sasuke's POV**

Augusta Lane is in the crappiest neighborhood in the western surburbs in california. The houses are set behind the backdrop of a Augusta graveyard, ripe for dirty drug deals and homeless crackheads.

Without time to spare, I take the gun from my closet and drive back to Shikamaru's. He'll give me advice without blabbling to the rest of my family. He's kept to the Sharingan's Code of Silence even when other guys blew it off.

I told Sakura I wouldn't do drug deals. I hate lying to her. If doing drug deals a way to gain Madara's trust and protect my family, what choice do I have? I don't want to do Madara's dirty work anymore than she wants me to, but I have to. I was being honest when I said I wasn't a Sharingan. While Madara might consider me one, I'm not. I'm just playing his game to find out what the Sharingan has planned. I've got to be strategic or this isn't gonna work.

Shikamaru looks at me from across his desk. "Damn, cuz. Augusta Lane's a rough place to be. That's enemy territory."

"Kiba;s going with me," I tell him. "For backup."

"Want me to go with you? Problem is they know me, and if a couple of Sound's OGs catch sight of me, it's gonna get rough."

"I don't need them retaliating against this place, or you."

"All right. You just watch you back at all times, Sasuke. Take my Mustang. At least you'll have a chance to get away if the Sound bakas start trouble. Most of their young bucks got shitty aim." He pats the back of my shirt. "You strapped?"

I nod. "You and I both know I aint gonna use it."

"Don't accidentally shoot yourself." He looks me straight in the eye and says, "If it you or them, let it be them."

I meet Kiba at the warehouse. We speed all the way to Augusta Lane, through towns that are worse off then mine. I slipped on a black hoodie and sunglasses, so hopefully nobody will notice that I don't belong in this hood.

Kiba's obviously been here before, because after we park he says to follow him. We pass a liquor store with a drunk out front talking to himself. Guys walking down the street heading toward us are defintely out looking for some action or a fight. We duck into a drugstore and stay out of their line of vision until they pass. I'm confident we could make a good showing in a fight against three of four guys, but when it comes to ten against two, I wouldn't bet on us.

We weave through the streets. I only lift my head when I have to. Kiba stuts right up to the house as if he collects in Sound's territory every day.

"Don't you want to check the place out first?" I ask him. "Or have a plan."

Kiba waves his hand, dismissing my concern. "Nah, it's cool."

A guy answers the door. "What do you want?" he asks roughly.

"Money. And if you don't give it to us, today will be your biggest fucking nightmare," Kiba barks through gritted teeth. his eyes are open wide, like he's one crazy motherfucker. I think it's just an act until Kiba pulls out a gun and points it right at the guy's head. "Give up five Gs or get your head blown off. Which is it?"

"Yo, Kiba." I say. "Cool it, would ya?"

"It's cool. stay here and keep watch. Don't let anyone in the house."

The guy holds his hands up and back into the house as Kiba walks inside. I don't know what the hell to do. Kiba is obviosuly on a power trip. Shit. If he's start shooting people . . . I start think of my life behind bars.

This wasn't supposed to be how it went down. I was supposed to come back to Konoha High, graduate, go to college, then apply to NASA'S space program-the chain of events on the timeline of my life. I had every aspect of my life perfectly planned out.

As it looks now, the only place I deserve to go to is jail. I look up at the darkened sky. I'm about to lose everything . . . including Sakura.

A few minutes later, when I'm about to knock on the door and tell Kiba I'm done with Madara's bullshit orders, he steps out.

"Did you get the cash?" I ask him.

"Yeah."

"So it's all cool?"

"Umm . . . I think we should bounce, like fast."

We hurry through the maze that's Augusta Lane. I look back and realize a bunch of guys are on our tail. They're waving guns, and we're trying to lose them in the overcrowded graveyeard of old railroad cars.

It's not working.

We ducl behind one of the cars. Kiba peeks his head out, and a bullet flies past his head. "We need to get out of here. We're screwed if we stay in one place." he says.

I've never been in a shootout, but I've witnessed them. I pull out my gun, but keep it at my side, partially hidden. Kiba does the same.

"Our car is right there. See it?" I say, my adrenaline pumping at full speed.

He nods.

"We're gonna run toward it, and drive away without looking back." I tell him.

"Got it."

"If they shoot, start unloading the rail cars to scare them. Hopefully they'll take cover atleast ubtil we can get to the car,"

There's no time to stategize plan B, because the guys are about to surround us. If we don't move now, we're fucked.

"Now.!" I yell, and we both book it toward Shikamaru's Mustang.

My pulse races as a shot rings out. Then another. And another. I jump into the car and look over at Kiba. He sticks his gun out of the front window and unloads the chamber as I start the car.

I screech away, knowing that we barely made it out alive.

"Put the guns in the glove compartment," I tell him, handing mine over to him. I check the rearview mirror for cops, but don't see any.

The sound of our heavy breathing fills the car.

"That was close," Kiba says, leaning his head back on the seat. A second later he says, "Holy shit, Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Dude, you got shot."

I look over at my bicep. Blood is rshing down my arm and staining the seat of the car, so I strip my hoodie off and tell Kiba to tie the sleeve around my arm. "I'm fine," I tell him. "It's just a scratch."

"Scratches don't gush blood. Yousure you're okay.?"

I can imagine Mikoto's face when she sees I'm bleeding. "I'll go to Shikamaru's and spend the night. He'll know what to do."

"You're lucky you made it out alive," Shikamaru says when I show up at his place a half hour later. "Your arm . . ."

"I kinda ran into a Sound bullet," I tell him.

He nods. "Your ma is gonna shit twice, then she's gonna kill you. Madara's one sonofabitch, sending you kids in Sound's territory."

"Tell me about it,"

I take a shower in Shikamaru's apartment above the garage. The bullet exited but let a two-inch gash, and now that I'm sitting down looking at the fleshy wound, it hurt like a bitch.

It won't be hard to hide, even with a bandage. I'll just wear a hoodie and long-sleeve shirts until it heals.

"Where did Kiba run off to?" Shikamaru asks me after he closes up the garage and meets me in the apartment.

"The warehouse." I put on a shirt Shikamaru lends me after he calls Mikoto and tells her I'll be bunking at his place tongiht. "What do you know about me being blessed in?" I ask my cousin as he takes a beer out of his fridge.

"I don't know anything about that," he says as he give me n intense, lazy stare. "And if I did, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you, okay?"

_He knows something. _I nod. It's no use trying to get any info out of him. If he was sworn to secrecy, he'll go to the grave with it.

_The Sharingan Code of Silence. _

It's a code that I haven't broken yet, but intend to crack sooner rather than later.


	35. Not Getting Emotionally Involved

**Chapter 35: Not Getting Emotionally Involved**

**Sakura's POV**

Two weeks after Sasuke promises me that he's not in the Sharingan, it's his eighteenth birthday. I know my parents are at some dinner party in the city, and my brother is at some gaming tournament in Wisconsin, so I invite Sasuke over for a private birthday dinner.

I'm not a chef, but I do know how to follow a recipe. I got a Japanese cookbook from the bookstore. We don't have authentic Japanese food often, and most of the recipes are foreign to me. Other than breakfest, my parents either order take-out or eat at the Orange Club. If mom does cook, it's probably a pot of sticky rice, and fried eggs, or something from the meat market specially prepackaged and marinated so all we have to do is throw the stuff in the oven.

Sasuke arrives at six, right on time, with a bunch of yellow daffodils in his hand. The stems are wrapped together in a big yellow ribbon. "Hey," he says.

"Hey," I say back.

He scans my skinny black dress that hugs every one of my curves. "Damn, Sak. You look amazing." He looks down at his jeans and cringes. "Sorry I didn't get more dressed up."

" I don't need you dressed up. You look like a stud just the way you are." I take the flowers after I kiss him. "You didn't have to bring me flowers. It's your birthday not mine."

"I wanted to bring you something." he says. When I put the flowers to my nose to smell him, Sasuke looks nervous. "I didn't know if you'd like them. sai tole me to bring you red roses, but I thought you'd like yellow. They remind me of you. They brighten a room . . . just like you."

I reach out and touch the stubble on his face, wondering how I ever thought he was the least simliar to Kiba. His tender gaze pierces through my heart. "I love them. Come on in. I made you dinner." I say proudly.

"what's that?" he asks as his eyes settle on the wrapped box I set on the table.

"Your birthday present."

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"I know, i wanted to. Go on, open it." When he does, I hold my breath.

He pulls out what looks like a twisted black iron rock, but I know it's not _just _a rock. He rolls it around in his hand, studying it. Does he knows what it is? Hopefull he doesn't think it's a cheap paperweight.

"It's a meteorite, " I explain quickly. "From Argentina. Inside the box are the authentic papers, explaining where and how it was found."

He looks at me over the meteorite with a stunned expression on his face. "I know what it is. I've seen them in museums. And in books. But I've never held one. Or owned on." He examines all sides in awe, feeling each curve and crevice with is fingertips. "I can't believe this was in space. It's so cool . . . surreal."

"It's yours." I say.

"I don't know what to say. It must've cost you a fortune. I just . . . wow. I'd beg you to return it and get your money back, but I don't want to part with it."

I kiss him on the check. "It's okay. i didnt need that college fund, anyway." He cocks an eyebrow, and I smile mischievously. "I'm just kidding. I had money saved up from babysitting and birthdays." With my forefinger, I run a path down the front of his shirt. "Besides, you're worth it."

"That's debatable, baby." He stills my hand. "It's the collest gift anyone's ever given me."

"Good. Mission accomplished."

"Not yet" He puts the meteorite gently back in the box and kisses me passionately until I'm wanting more and my insides are melting. I'm breathless and never want to stop. Knowing that we're alone, and I have another gift planned for him, makes me want to skip dinner altogether. "Thanks for the gift." he says against my lips.

"My pleasure." Flustered now, I step away from him and gesture to the dining room, where everything is set up. "I made an authetic Japanese meal."

"Recipes passed down from your ancestors?"

"Not really. Try cookbook I bought yesterday at the mall."

He laughs. "Next time you want to make an authentic Japanese meal, call me first. Mikoto taught me and my brothers to cook when we were kids."

After serving him a plate of fried pork and rice balls, he sits down and eats. After about 15 minutes, "You did an awesome job," he says as he fishes for the slippery flan eluding his spoon.

"You're lying. It sucked. Face reality, Sasuke. I should have ordered takeout. If you were Kakashi, you'd give me a D minus on this meal."

He laughs. "An A plus for effort. The fried pork were awesome."

"That's because I brought them ready-made all I had to do was stick it in the oven." I say. When we're done, he helps me clear the table and puts the dishes in the dishwasher. Afterward, I see him leaning against the kitchen counter watching me. "You have a plan for the rest of the night, or are we gonna wing it?"

I take his hand and weave his fingers through mine. "I have another birthday present for you."

"What is it?"

I lean close to his ear and whisper, "Me." He swallows, hard. I watch as the muscle in his jaw twitches. "Wanna go upstairs . . . to my bedroom."

He nods slowly. "I didn't think you could top that meteorite gift, but you just did."

I take his hands and leads him to my room. My heart is racing the entire time, because I've prepared myself for this. I tell myself it's okay, because I want this as much as Sasuke. I'm in control here. I just have to keep myself in check and not let my emotions run wild.

Sasuke walks around my room, studying the pictures on my wall. Most of them are of me and my friends. Some are dogs from the shelter. He stops when his eyes focus in on one of me and him at Itachi and Konan's wedding two summers ago. We both had no clue the photographer had caught the moment on camera.

He points to it. "How did you get this?"

"Konan brought it over when she had dinner at my house one night."

He points to the expression on my face. "Youwere so pissed. Look at me, with that stupid-ass cocky grin. I thought I was the shit back then." He shakes his head, then scans the rest of the pictures.

While his back is turned to me, I reach around and slowly unzip my dress. "You _are _the shit, Sasuke." I say in a teasing voice.

"Nah, I'm-"

He stops midsentence as he looks at me and it registers that I'm unzipping my dress. My mouth is dry as I slide the straps down my shoulders slowly until the material falls to the floor in a pool at my feet.

His eyes never leave mine. Mine never leave him.

"What were you saying?" I ask.

"I forgot." His gaze travels down the length of my body . I dressed in black lace panties and a matching bra, prepared for us to be together tonight. "Sakura . . ." He takes a step toward me. "I didn't think you could look more beautiful when you opened the door tonight. But you do."

I hold my breath in anticipation and longing as his fingers skim lightly over my shoulders before gently slipping my bra straps aside.

This is okay, I tell myself. I can enjoy this and stay emotionally detached as I want. His lips replace his fingers. He kisses one shoulder, then brushes his warm lips across my neck and kisses the other one.

I grab on to him for support because his warm breath brushing over my skin makes me dizzy. I want him here with me, I want him close . . . but this is sex. It _has _to be just sex.

I grab him over his pants, then unzip his jeans.

"Easy girl," he says, amused.

He puts an arm around me, holding me steady, as he bents down to kiss me. It's not just any kiss. His lips move slowly over mine, brushing against them before his tongue reaches out. I feel his hot breath mingle withmine as out tongues glide over each other's in a slow rhythm that makes my skin hot and sweaty. His hands move slowly up and down the curve of my back in the same rhythm as our kiss.

Truth is, being with Sasuke makes me want to ditch all of my self awareness and give in to every temptation.

He pulls his shirt over his head, then tosses it aside. He's got a big scab on his arm. "What happened?" I ask, tracing around it.

"Just got a cut working at the garage." he says, dismissing it.

"What were you doing?"

He hesitates long enough for me to question whether he's about to tell me the truth.

"It's not important." He kisses me again, tryin gto make me forget about his mystery wound. It works for the moment.

We strip naked and move to the bed. Instead on jumping eachother's bones, he takes his sweet time running his hands over every inch of my body as if he's going to memorize it for a painting later.

I follow his lead, skimming my palm across his hot skin in a slow, tortuous pattern until he's panting. I lean over him and use my lips and tongue, exploring every inch. He grabs the sheets so hard his knuckles turn white. It makes me feel like I have the power, not the other way around.

Until it's his turn to explore. I try to stay calm. But it's hard. I brace myself for it to happen any minute now. He gently pushes the hari out of my face as he gazes into my deep, insecure, green eyes. "I'm living my fantasy." he says.

"What fantasy is that?" I ask.

"Being alone with the girl I love. I love you, Sakura. You know that right?"

Umm . . . "Yes. Me too." I say dumbly, trying to block the rush of emotions threatning to surface. His thumb traces my lips and I swear his eyes are getting glassy. "I've never felt this way about another girl before," he whispers.

No.

I don't want to keep hearing words of love.

Sasuke is dangerous and has the ability to suck me in if I let him. I can't let that happen. He's got secrets. I've got secrets. We can't share them, but we can share our bodies.

"Let's have sex," I blurt out. I reach over and open my side-table drawer. I pull out a condom from the box I bought over the weekend and hand it to him. "Here."

"I want to make love to you, Sakura. More than anything but you said-"

"Forget what I said. Let's do it." He leans in to kiss me again, but I put a hand on his chest and nudge him away. "Put the condom on."

"Now?"

"Yeah, now."

He seems a little frustrated that I'm rushing this, but he rips open the package and puts on the condom. If we do this fast, and I'm able to keep myself free of emotion, it'll be find. Tonight will wipe all the bad memories of me and Kiba away.

He's poised above me now, his hands braced on either side of my head. I gaze up at his tan skin skick against me. "Come, on." I say, urging him along.

His lips are inches away from mine. "I got to be honest, Sak. This isn't how I imagined it."

"It's fine. Let's just do it. Hurry up." 

I squeeze my eyes shut. I can't look at him. Not now, when i'm determined to stay emotionless. He hesitates, then swear under his breath and pushes himself off me.

Cold air rushes under the blanket as he sits on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?" I ask. "Why'd you stop?"

He pulls off the condom and tosses it in the trash. "This ain't working for me."

"Why not?"

He looks back at me, pissed. "Shit, Sak, you're acting as though this is a one-night stand between strangers. I'm trying to make love to you and your eyes are shut so damn tight it looked like you were wishing I was someone else."

"I'm not . . . I wasn't."

"Forget it." He grabs his boxers and puts them on. "Next time your boyfriend tells you he loves you, you might want to acknowledge it with more than a _yeah, me too."_

"I don't want you to love me," I snap.

"Too late, Sakura."

I sit up. "I can't do the love thing, Sasuke."

"So you just want a fuck partner, is that it?" he snaps, then shoves his legs into his pants. "It would've been cool of you to, like, let me know we were just gonna screw so I didn't make a fool of myself, pouring out my feelings."

"You didn't make a fool out of yourself. Don't be mad. I just don't want to get hurt again. I won't repeat what I did with-"

"Kiba," he says, finishing my sentence. He throws his hands in the air. "Sakura. I'm so fucking sick and tired of it always coming back to you and Kiba. You still in love with him?"

"I'm not . . . I don't. Sasuke, you have NO idea about the things I went through." I can't even get the words out.

"Tell me then. Tell me, so you can finally move on."

"You don't get it.! There's no moving on from this, this, BRUDEN. I will always have this, there's no escaping it. Kiba took something from me, that I can NEVER get back okay? He broke up with me, then ran away like a dumbass coward, wanna know where? BACK TO THE SHARINGAN.! Obviously, the sharingan had something to give him, I could never give. So don't say that I can move on, because I can't.!" I yell, throwing my hands up in frustration.

He grabs his shirt off the floor, and looks at me with a grave expression on his face. "Do you even love me?"

His words calm me down, as I think. My head is down, with my pink hair falling over my sad, green eyes, I shut my eyes tight, as I clutch my blanket to my chest and give him the only answer I can. "No."


	36. Already Fucked Up

**Chap36: Already Fucked-Up**

**Sasuke's POV**

I want destroy something, anything. I left Sakura's house tonight knowing one thing-it's over. I was an idiot to think she feels the same about me, the way I feel for her. I wanted to believe she was holding back because she was scared . . . but in reality she was just using me to get over someone else.

Instead of going hom, I drive to the Sharingan warehouse. On my way, I notice a car in the rearview mirror that I've seen a couple times before. Am I being tailed? I speed through busier parts of town and lose them. At the warehouse, Kiba is sitting with a bunch of guys. Some are drinking tequila, some are smoking dope. It's the scene Mikoto wanted to shelter me from, probably because she knew I'd be drawn to it at some point.

I've reached that point.

"Hey," Kiba says. I can tell by his bloodshot eyes that he's completely wasted. "I thought you were going out with your girl tonight."

"She's not my girl anymore." I grab a shot of tequila and chug it. It's cheap sutff, but I'm guessing it'll do the job.

"Congratulations. You finally dumped the bitch." He holds up his own shot of tequila in a congratulatory salute. "On to bigger and better."

"Right." I throw the shot cup down and reach for a can of beer. Then another. By the time I'm on my fifth beer and had 4 tequila shots, I'm completely wasted and feeling damn good. Like I don't give a shit about anyone, especially Sakura.

I need to tell her tonight was a mistake, and it'll never happen again. I won't give her the satisfaction of letting her think she hurt me. I pull out my cell and call her.

"Hey, Sak." I say when she answers. "I'm with Kiba." I put my around hin and say. "We were just trading stories about you. Ain't that right, baka?"

Kiba laughs. I know she can hear him. I'm being a complete idiot and I'm making this up as I go along, but in my drunken state I don't have a filter. She might as well have stabbed me in the heart.

"I'm hanging up." she warns.

"No.!" I yell into the reciever. "I need to say one more thing."

"What?" she asks.

Time to be the asshole she think I am.

I concentrate on not slurring my words, but I don't know if I'm successfull. "I'm done with you."

She hangs up on me. My words hurt her. I know I'm gonna regret that call in the morning, but right now I'm flying high and don't give a rat's ass.

I stumble over to the cooler and grab another beer. By the time I finish it, I'm seeing double and I'm completely unable to think . . . about anything. I don't even remember what I said to Sakura, or even if I really called her or if I just thought that called her.

"Hey, SAsuke." Karin says, coming up to me. "You're wasted."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Is there trouble in paradise?"

I shake my head and hold up the beer can. "This is my paradise."

"I know what will get your mind off Sakura."

"What?"

"Me." she kisses me, and I'm too weak and too stupid drunk to think about pushing her away. She's not what I want. She knows it, but she doesn't care. I could close my eyes and pretend she's Sakura . . . that would really prove I'm an asshole.

Karin leads me to a room off to the side. I sit on an old, beaten-up couch and she straddles me, but my body won't cooperate-as if it knows what it want and Karin's no it. "I'm in love with her." I say, stopping Karin before this goes any further.

"Why?" Karin asks, annoyed.

"She's my angel."

Karin slides off me and heads for the door. "You don't know what you're missing, Sasuke."

Yeah, I do. I've had one-night stands before . . . they're all the same. With Sakura it matters . . . whih is why tonight hurts so fucking bad.

"Sorry," I tell Karin.

She doesn't answers. Instead, she walks out and slams the door behind her.

In the early morning, I wake up and realize that I fell asleep at the warehouse. Everyone is gone except for a few people that call this shithole their home.

My head is spinning even before I manage to lift myself into a sitting position. I wonder if I look as shitty as I feel. Glancing down at the empty cans of beer beside me makes my stomach churn. I'm gonna puke.

I stumble outside and hurl until there's nothing left. I'm so weak I can hardly stand.

"Rough night?" Pein asks, coming up beside me.

"Hai."

"I used to get fucked up like that when I was your age. Fun times, huh?"

"I'm not having fun right now." I tell him as another wave of nausea hits me.

He laughs as I puke my guts out again. "You still got that key Madara gave you?"

"I haven't had a chance to go to the bank," I tell him. "Besides, I think I'm being followed."

He laughs cynically. "I'm having you followed, Sasuke. You're valuable to me, and the Sharingan."

I glare at him in the corner of my eye, I got to watch my back even closer now, dammit.

Pein pats my back, hard ebough to rattle my sensitive stomach. "All right, baka. You got one more week and then I've got to put the pressure on. Consider this a warning. Go home," he orders. "Itachi and Sai are there, but don't tell them you were here."

"How do you know where they are?"

"Haven't you realized it by now, Sasuke?" Pein says. "Me and Madara got eyes and ears everywhere. Hell, even when we was in jail we knew your every move. When you were in Japan, I had my guys track you."

"Why me?"

"When you're ready to know, I'll tell ya, or Madara. Now get your sorry ass out of here."

I walk through the door of my house, but can't make it to the bathroom so I run outside to puke in the bushes. I ignore the stares from my family as I stumble through the house and head straight for my bedroom. Sleep. All I need is sleep. I fall facedown onto my mattress.

"Sasuke.!" Mikoto says from the doorway. She's pissed, and I'm not in the mood to hear her yell at me. "Where were you? I've been calling you all night, without an answer. What's the use in having a cell phone if you refuse to answer it for your own mother?" She narrows her eyes at me "What's wrong with you? Are you on drugs, Sasuke.?"

Out of the corner of the my eye I think I just saw her cross herself. If she starts lighting the memorial candles and began praying to my dead dad, I'm seriously gonna lose it.

"I was drunk," I tell her. "And now I'm hungover. Answering your call would've killed the buzz, so I ignored it."

I hear her suck in a shocked breath, then I feel something whack me in the back of my head. Her shoe.

"Isn't that child abuse?" I ask her.

"It would be, if you were a child. You're eighteen, Sasuke. You're a man now. Act like it.!"

She slams the door shut. The sound is like a jackhammer banging against my skull, which I'm sure is exactly what she intended. Mikoto isn't subtle, that's for damn sure.

The room is finally a sanctuary, and I close my eyes. My peace is short-lived, though, because I hear the door creak as someone opens it. "You gonna hit me with another shoe?" I mumble against the pillow.

"Nah," Itachi's voice echoes through my head. "Mikoto told Sai and me to come in here to make sure you're not dead, which is pretty much what she thought when you didn't answer your cell last night."

Itachi and Sai-the tag team from hell. They're the last people I need shit from right now. If they decide to trail me, too, I'll have an entire entourage.

"I'm fine."

"Then sit up and talk to us."

"Okay, in that case I'm not fine. Go away." I moan. "Unless you want me to puke all over you."

"What happened to you and Sakura last night?" Itachi asks.

I shrug. "Nothing. We're history."

Sai chuckles. "Yeah, right. Believe me, I've been in the same condition you're in, bro. Getting shitfaced over a girl isn't a solution. Talk to her and work it out."

"I'm not talking about it."

I open one eye and see Itachi crouching beside the bed. "I'm not letting you fuck up like we did."

"Face the fats, Itachi. I'm already a fuckup, and I don't intend to change that fat anytime soon."


	37. Truth Hurts

**Chapter 37: Truth Hurts**

**Sakura's POV**

Everything has changed in a blink of an eye. Sasuke, me . . . us. I spent the rest of Saturday night crying in bed, wondering how everything spiraled out of the control. Sasuke's call in the middle of the night didn't help. God, how my heart raced when I saw his number come up. I hoped he would tell me that he'd wait for me to open my heart to him, that it didn't matter how long it took. If he really loved me . . . Oh, it doesn't matter. He said it was over.

The problem is that the feelings I had for him, and still have for him, are so intense they scare me. I wanted to make love to him, body and soul, but my fear made me pull away. In the end, all I could give him was my body. It wasn't good enough.

On Monday I try my hardest to avoid seeing Sasuke at school, but every time I open my eyes I spot him either at his locker or walking down the hall with friends. He makes no eye contact with me, even in chemistry when we're facing each other across the lab tables.

"Are you coming to watch the soccer game with me after school?" Hinata asks me after chemistry on Tuesday.

"No. Definitely not," I tell her.

She stops and gives me one of her pity looks. "Why won't you tell me what happened Saturday night?"

"Sasuke and I broke up."

"I know that part. Want to share why?"

"When I'm ready. I'm just not ready now."

She sighs. "All right. I'm here for you."

"You're always here for me. It's time you get anothe best friend who doesn't carry around so much baggage."

"Not gonna happen." She gives me a warm smile. "You're my inspiration."

"For what? A drama queen?"

"No. Do you realize how many dogs you've helped rescue? You're the girl that doesn't give up on the underdog."

"I feel like I'm the underdog."

"Then you know never to give up on yourself. You're stronger than you think you are. Sakura."

On Wednesday. Karin and Sasuke are talking at his locker. They sit next to each other at lunch. In chemistry, he makes a joke and she laughs so hard I think he lungs are going to burst.

On Thursday after school, I'm thankful I'm scheduled to work at the shelter. Being with the dogs will help me get my mind off of Sasuke.

I check in at the front desk, then head back to the cages. My heart skips a beat when Miko's cage is empty and the pink identification card is missing from the slot on her cage door.

Did she die in the middle of the night, all alone and scared? Or is she so skinny from not eating they had to take her to vet? I rush over to Shizune in complete panic mode. "What happened to Miko?" I ask her.

"She was adopted." The phone rings. "I thought you knew about it," she says before she answers the call.

How would I know? I didn't do the paperwork on her. I open the name Miko on top if the latest application my heart swells with happiness that she finally has a home.

Until I look at the bottom of the page at the name of the persin who adopted her. Sasuke Uchiha.

I gasp. "He didn't."

"Your friend came in right before we closed last night and adopted her," one of the other volunteers tells me.

Sasuke knew I wanted her. How dare he come and snatch her. He took Miko just to spite me. Oh, how could I ever have thought I wanted to be with someone who'd adopt a dog just for revenge?

My mind is in a rage as I spend my assigned time cleaning out cages and walking the dogs. After I clock out, I get in my car and race to Sasuke's house.

I knock on the door.

No answer.

I pound on the door.

Still no answer.

I put my ear to the door and hear the television, so I know someone's got to be home. I shimmy between the bushes and the front window. I eye Sasuke sitting on the couch with Miko in his lap, then knock on the glass to get his attention. He looks at me, and I give him the universal sign language for "open the damn door" by pointing to it.

By the time I shimmy back to the front shop, he's opened the door. "I puked in those bushes a few days ago. You might want to be careful where you step.

Eww. I'm careful not to step in anything unidentifiable, but since the bushes are in the way, it's no use. "I can't believe you stole my dog."

"I wouldn't stole my dog, Sak. How cruel do you think I am?"

"I meant Miko, and you know it." Just hearing him calling me 'Sak' makes my insides all bubbly.

"How can I steal a dog I officially adopted at a shelter?"

I narrow my eyes at him. "You knew I wanted her."

"Yeah, so? You know the saying . . . you snooze, you lose. You want to hear it in Japanese?"

He's doing his best to upset me and it's working. "No. You didn't even want a dog."

"I do now. Miko and I are bonding." He crosses his fingers. "We're like this."

"This whole adopting think isn't really about Miko. This is about us."

"There is no 'us' anymore, remember?"

His words sting. So you steal the _one _dog at the shelter you know I have a special attachment to just to piss me off and rub it in?"

"Oh, please. You were smothering the poor thing. I didn't get her for some retaliation against you. There are a few burgulars in this town and we need a good watchdog."

"She's _blind_, Sasuke.!" I yell. "She can't watch anything. I don't even think she can bark. Miko's got one foot in the grave."

He pretends like my words are an insult to him and his dog. "Shh, don't let her hear you say that."

"You're kidding, right?"

He shrugs. "Listen, the lady at the shelter aprroved of my application. you got a problem with it, talk to the shelter. I don't give a shit what you think anymore."

If I were a cartoon, a big great gust of steam would be coming out of my ears right now. "What about Saturday, Sasuke? You told me you loved me."

"Isn't that what guys are supposed to say before they screw their girlfriends? I thought it was prerequisite."

"You don't mean that."

"What do you want me to say, that I want to get back with you just so you could think of another guy while we're in bed together? No, thanks."

Miko waddles to the front door. Sasuke reaches down and picks her up. Seeing him holding her so gently in his arms shows off the warm and caring side he's trying to hide from me.

"You don't know what I think about, Sasuke. And don't tell me you weren't keeping secrets from me. You were obviously doing something shady for tha Madara guy. I know he wasn't recruiting you to join the Boy Scouts. I chose to ignore all the warning signs and trust you. You lied to me, didn't you? After you promised me that you had nothing to do with them. You keep more secrets then the Pentagon."

"I lie to everyone. It's no big deal."

"It's a big deal to me." I point to his arm. "That didn't happen in the garage. You were in a knife fight."

"Wrong. Try gunfight." He puts Miko on the grass so she can waddle around and he holds his hands up. "Okay, fine. You got me. You're looking at the newest Sharingan recruit, baby. I've been dealing drugs and gangbanging with Kiba behind your back. That's my secret. What's yours?"

I swallow and prepare myself to reveal the truth. It doesn't matter anymore, so why are tears running down my face? I wish I could hold them back, but I can't. I'm angry, I'm hurt, I'm sad . . . He's just like Kiba. I tried to deny it, but the truth slaps me in the face.-

I was pregnant with Kiba's baby the day he broke up with me." Sasuke steps back, shock written all over his face. "I lost the baby right after we left Itachi's wedding and I almost dies. This thing coming between us wasn't about me and Kiba.!" I yell, getting riled up now. "It was about _**trust. **_And in the back of my head I knew you were lying to me about the Sharingan. Don't blame me for holding back, Sasuke. I was almost ready to let go and try to trust again. It took me a while, and I wasn't really good at it, but at least I was trying, which is more than I can say for you. It was _**you **_who was holding back all along." I pull the meteorite ou of my purse. "Maybe I couldn't say it yet, but I tried to show you how much I cared.!" Tears stream down my cheeks as I chuck the meteorite into the street.

I expect him to go running after it, but he doesn't. His eyes are fixed on me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he says softly. He reaches out to me.

I whack his hand away. "Don't you dare touch me ever again.!"


	38. Joke's On Me

**Chapter 38: Joke's On Me **

**Sasuke's POV**

A wek later, as I hop on my motorcycle in the library parking lot after working on my essay for GHU's application, a car that

I've noticed trailing me for tthe past two weeks stops in front of me and block my path.

A guy steps out of the car. I've seen him at the warehouse a couple of times, but I've never talked to him. He's an OG. "Madara wants to talk to you."

"Later," I tell them.

"No, you don't get it." A big guy steps out of the back. "He wants to talk to you now."

I leave the motorcycle in the parking lot and get in the backseat. I've been avoiding this meeting. The key Madara gave me has been like a weight on my conscience.

Madara is sitting in the back, waiting for me. We're driven randomly through town.

I take the key out of my wallet. "I can't do it. I thought I could, but I can't." The way Sakura looked at me with complete and utter hatred when I tried to console her after she told me she'd been pregnant with Kiba's baby made me realize it was really over for good. She hated Kiba, hated the Sharingan and now she put me in the same category because I've betrayed her, just like Kiba. The entire week I've tried to feel him out to see if he knows about the pregnancy, but it he hasn't taken the bait. Either he doesn't know about it, or he's determined to keep it a secret.

"I know you feel a pull toward the Sharingan," Madara says. "But you don't know why."

I stay silent. Every word he just spoke is the truth. I won't admit it because I'm ashamed of it.

"No need to hide you true feelings. Dad wanted you to be in the Sharingan, Sasuke. He made sure you were watched over and protected. He brought you to the warehouse a week after you were born, to be blessed in with the Sharingan Clan Symbol drawn on her forehead in his own blood . . . a full-fledged Sharingan."

No fucking way. "My father died before I was born," I say. "Itachi told me he was there, he saw our Dad get shot . . . what you're saying doesn't make sense, unless-"

"Your father wasn't a Uchiha," Madara says, interrupting my confusion. He pulls a picture out of his suit pocket and hands it to me. "I was there."

I look at the picture of Oruchimaru Subaku with a huge grin on his face as he holds up a baby in the air like a king presenting his newborn baby to the people. The prince. In the middle of the baby's forehead, drawn in blood, are the Sharingan's most strongest symbol. The Mangekyo Sharingan.

"That's you." Madara says. "And your dad. You _real _dad."

As soon as the words leave Madara's mouth, a feeling of dread washes over me. It can't be true. But there have been signs. I've never seen my birth certificat. When Itachi got shot Sai donated bloob, but my family never even approached me to do the same. It always rubbed me raw. Were they worried that I'd find out Itachi and I weren't a match, or that I'd somehow find out we were only half brother? Madara said I was blessed into the Sharingan, but my dad died before I was born. I couldn't have been blessed in, unless my father was a member of the Sharingan at the time.

I need answers, and I need them now. Did Mikoto sheild me from the gang life because she didn't want me finding out the truth? I used to know where my loyalties lie. Now I'm not so sure.

"Drive me back to the library," I say to the dude drving. "I need to get out of here."

The guy looks to Madara for direction. Madara nods his approval. Even when they drop me off by the library and let me out of the car, I feel trapped. He knows wheer to find me, how to lure me back with threats I can't ignore. I left the picture in Madara's car, hoping to leave the image of Oruchimaru proudly holding up that baby-me- behind.

I find myself driving to Itachi's apartment. I knock on the door, hoping he's home. I need answers, and he's hte one person who can give them to me. Itachi comes to the door. "Sasuke, what's wrong?" he says.

"Are you my brother?" I ask plain and simple.

"Of course I'm your brother," he says, confused.

"Let me be more specific, then. Am I your _half _brother?"

He doesn't answer. He stares at me, with those Sharingan tattoos on his own chest and arm mocking me.

"Fuck you, Itachi.!"

"What's going on?" Konan says, coming into view with Dakura in his arms. "SAsuke, you look sick. I hope you didn't catch the flu from Daku. Are you okay?"

"Wasuke.!" Daku yells, clapping and excited to see me.

"No, I'm not okay. " I look at Itachi with contempt. "Does Konan know?"

Itachi nods slowly.

"Do I know what?" Konan says innocently as she wraps Daku tight in a blanket. "What's going on between you two?"

"Itachi was just confirming that I'm not his brother," I say.

Itachi stands infront of me, face-to-face. "You _are _my brother, dammit."

"Yeah, half. What's the other half, huh? Tell me."

"I don't know what you heard, but-"

"Oruchimaru is my father, isn't he?"

I glance at Itachi's shoulder where Oruchimaru shot hom not long after he killed Kisame.

"Isn't he?" I say again.

"Hai, Sasuke." He says, defeated. "Oruchimaru was your father." Konan puts a comforting hand on my shoulder, but I shrug it off.

"Does Sai know, or am I not only the black sheep of the family, but also the last to know who my own _fucking _father is."

Itachi doesn't want to tell me. He'd rather keep me ignorant and innocent, but that's all in the past. I'm not a kid anymore. Far from it.

"Tell me.!" I scream at him. My entire body is tense and I surpress a vicious rage that's bubbling inside me.

"Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down. Don't say another word to me except the absolute truth."

"Okay," Itachi brushes his fingers through his hari. "He suspects. He brought it up once about ten years ago, and I shut him down. I told him never to bring it up again, and he hasn't."

"Well, horray for Uchiha family secrets."It feels like I've got a lump the size of a basketball in my throat when I ask, "Did he rape our mother? Am I the result of a rape?"

"No."

"She cheated?"

"Not exactly. Why don't I take you home and you can ask her yourself."

"I don't have a home, Itachi."

"Don't be stupid, SAsuke. Your home is wherever your family is. Mikoto did thing she thought would keep us safe."

"So she whored herself out. Nice."

Itachi pushes me, his eyes blazing red. "Don't talk about mother like that. She did what she needed to be don, period. Don't judge her when you don't know what went down."

All this time I've been so stupid. The evidence was right in front of my face and I never even put the pieces together. I had this ridiculous delusion that I was the golden child, because I was in my mothers stomach when my supposed father was shot and killed, that the last gift my father gave her was me.

But in reality I've never been the golden child. I've been he black sheep . . . I've called myself a Uchiha and I never was one.

I step back. "Sayanora, bro."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm out. For good."

"You're not going anywhere."

"You have no hold over me, Itachi. Hell, we don't even share the same father." I think of all the time I felt bad for Sai becasue he seemed the odd one out. He didn't have the brains or even the temper that Itachi and I were born with.

Joke's on me. I don't even have the same blood.

"You think your DNA matters?" he asks. "It doesn't. You were my brother as soon as you came out of Mikoto's stomach and I held you when you were less than an hour old. You were my brother when Mikoto worked and I wiped your ass and changed your diapers. And you'll be my brother until I take my last breath.!"

"You denied me my history . . . my heritage.!"

"I denied you nothing, Sasuke. Your biological father was . . ." He hesitates.

"Go ahead and say it. Come on, Itachi, don't hold back now."

"Oruchimaru was a manipulative asshole who threatened people with their lives so they did what he wanted. He was a murderer and drug lord. We did you a favor by not telling you that half your genes were from a man without scruples or a conscience."

"You better be careful, Itachi." I push him back, ready for a brawl. "That's my blood you're talking about."

My words must sting, because Itachi's eyes are glassy, his face turns really red, and he pounds his chest. "Wake up, Sasuke. You're looking at your blood. _I'm _you're blood."

I regard him in disgust. "All I see in front of me is an ex-Sharingan. A traitor to my people."

"That's bullshit."

"Watch you're back, bro. You never know who's family . . . and who's the enemy."

I storm away from him, blocking out Itachi's demands to come back mixed with Konan's please not to leave. She says we can work it out.

I'm done working things out.

Madara was right. Being a Sharingan is my destiny, my birthright. I told myself I wanted to get close to Madara to gain insider info about the gang. I was lying to myself. All along I wanted to be in it, be a part os the drug deals and danger. I walk into the warehouse with one thing on my mind; living up to my father's legacy.

Madara is sitting in his makeshift office talking to some OGs. One look at me and Madara sends everyone else out of the room-except a guy named Tiny, who isn't very tiny.

"I'll go to the bank and see whats in the safety-deposit box," I say. "But I've got conditions."

His ever-present cigar is hanging from his mouth. He takes it out and blows smoke in the ait. I watch as it lingers above his head before disappearing into the smoke-filled room. "conditions?"

"Hai. First you never threaten Itcahi's family, Sai, or Mikoto again. Second, you initiate me like everyone else." No more straddling the line. I've chosen my side, and I don't want anyone mistaking me for something that I'm not and was never intended to be.

"Glad you've come around, Uchiha."

"Don't call me that," I say roughly. "I'm not a Uchiha and you know it, so stop the bullshit. You agree to my terms or not?"

We stare eachother down. "Sure. Oruchimaru predicted you'd be a fighter," he says, proudly, reminding me of the picture of Oruchimaru holding me when I was a newborn. He nods to Tiny to get the other OGs back in the room. "Sasuke here wants to solidify his place in the Sharingan family, boys." he calls out as they pile back in. "Problem is,Sasuke, you've already been blessed in. No need for an initiation."

"I want it. Jump me in like a new recruit."

He laughs. "What, you _want _us to kick the shit outta you?"

"I want to be initiated like Itachi. I'm not takin the easy way out. I can handle it." I'll show them I don't need to be protected from the truth. I can hear Oruchimaru from the grave egging me on, challenging me to prove to all these guys that I'm as tough as he was.

He cocks an eyebrow. "You can handle it, huh?"

"I'm my father's son," I say stoically. "Bring it."

"All right," he says, amused. "Yo, Zetsu.!" he yells. "Round up some other and give Sasuke here a Sharingan thirteen-second degree welcome. I'm gonna join in, too." He cracks his knuckles one by one. "I'm gonna enjoy this."

**:O See what happens next.! Thanks for all the reviews.! I love you guys.! #Please Review :)**

***Sasuke'sOneInAMillion**


	39. Living The American Dream

**Chapter 39: Living The American Dream**

**Sakura's POV**

Hinata think's Im a survivor, but right now I don't feel like one. All I feel like doing is going over to Sasuke's house so he can hold me and tell me everything is okay between us.

I'm dreaming. It's not okay between us and never will be.

"Dad," I say, sitting down with him as he watches a basketball game on television. "How come you and Mom never took us to Japan?"

He shrugs. "We travel alot, Sakura. You went to China with us two years ago. And Korea when I spoke at the conference there. You practically gobbled up all the rice cakes and ramen in South Korea."

"But why not Japan?"

He blows out a long, slow breath. "I guess if we went, I'd feel like I had to show you where I grew up. I don't want to look back, Sakura. Your mother doesn't want to, either."

"A lot of the Japanese kids at school have parents who don't even speak English."

"On the south side," he says.

"Yeah."

"We're trying to raise you and your brother to not have the we/them mentality, and the resentment between the _haves _and _have-nots, _which I'm afraid is rampant on the south side. Your mother and I discussed it alot before you were born."

"It's not like we're white(**no offense). **I don't eat Japanese food, and none of the kids I grew up with were Japanese."

"We're not trying to be white, Sakura. We assimilated. Is that so horrible?"

"I feel like in the process of wanting to fit in so bad, you and Mom have neglected to make us proud of our heritage. I love being American. But when I look at the kids on the south side . . . like the Uchiha family . . . I'm jealous."

"What's there to be jealous of, honey? You have everything you need, and most things you want. We're living the American dream. I know the mentality of most Japanese families on the south side of California: work like a dog, send money to relatives back in Japan, and don't have high expectation because they'll never be met. Most Japanese kids on the south side of California aren't even expected to go to college. After high school they're expected to help their parents provide for the family, and protect what they call the _'hood'. _That's not our mentality."

"I know." I want to tell him what's been nagging me for the past two months, ever since I was with Sasuke on Naruto's boat. "I want you to tell me about your childhood, Dad. Not now, but when you and Mom are ready. It's really important to me. Being Japanese is important to me."

"Does this have anything to do with you spending so much time with Sasuke?"

"Maybe. We broke up, and I miss his family and being surrounded by people who showed off being Japanese like it was a badge of honor. I know it's stupid, but I really liked it." I also miss Sasuke so much, I ache for him and have cried myself to sleep every night since his birthday.

"If you want to go to Japan, I'll talk to your mother. We have no plans this summer, with you going to college in the fall." He pats my knee. "I think you're right. We need to look back sometimes and realize the past taught us to appreciate our future."

It's true. I need to go back to my own past, so I can heal and look forward to the future. Kiba is the key.

I leave the room and walk outside to call Kiba. When he doesn't answer, I text him.

**Me: Can we talk?**

**Kiba: Can't. I'm helping Sasuke get jumped in :)**


	40. 13 Seconds

**Chapter 40: 13 Seconds**

**Sasuke's POV**

Madara is standing in front of me, in the middle of a circle of about fifteen guys. My cousin Shikamaru isn't here, but Kiba is. And a couple of other guys from school. He's also rounded up some of the guys who were around when Itachi was in the Sharingan.

"Here's what's gonna happen, Sasuke." Madara explains. "My friends and I are gonna take you in the back room and kick the shit out of you for thirteen seconds. When it's over, you're in."

"Can I fight back?" I ask.

"No. If you even attempt to, our punches will be harder," he says, not missing a beat. "This is to break you down before we build you back up bigger, stronger, tougher, and powerful-"

"Er, powerfuler, sir." Zetsu interrupts, everyone laughs, while Madara knock Zetsu out. He straightens his suit and smirk

"As I was saying, building you back up bigger, stronger, tougher, and powerfuler, just like a stallion. When we're done, you're a Sharingan."

"Let's get it over with."

"Damn, you _are _like Oruchimaru. That crazy motherfucker was as impatient as you are," Madara says.

All of them lead me to a room without any windows. I notice dried blood stains on the floor. I should be scared, but I'm not. Kiba catches my attention. He's excited, like my jumping in will raise his position in the gang.

A few OGs stands behind me, probably making sure I done get last-minutes jitters and escape.

"You ready?" Madara asks.

I nod. A deep rage simmers inside me, desperate to be unleased. I don't know how much longer I can hold it back.

Madara grabs my chin, his fingers digging in my skin. "You face reminds me of Itachi," he says. "I enjoyed bringing him to his knees when he jumped out. What sweet revenge this is gonna be."

I pull myself out of his grip, but the second I'm free Madara's iron-hard fist flies to my face. He must have a ring on, because something sharp slashed my cheeks.

"One," he says, gloating over the obivous damage.

"Two." I hear him call out. The rest of the guys start closing in. I quickly shield my face with my hands and arms. It's hard keeping them up when, blow after blow, my body aches and wants to crumple to the ground.

"Three."

A blow to my side makes me want to cry out, but I don't. I hold it in. I can handle anything , even this. I want to fight back, but Madara's words are in the back of my head. _Our punches will be harder. _

"Four."

Kiba clocks me in the jaw when I move my hands for a split second. I taste blood, but don't have to dweel on it as I struggle to stay upright. I'm waiting to hear the number thirteen. It'll be over at thirteen.

"Five."

One of the guys kicks the back of my knee hard. I stumble to the ground. I'm on my hands and knees now. I'm trying to stand, but can't. I get kicked hard in the stomach.

"Six."

I manage to stand up. Each blows feeds the restless fire inside me. _I can handle this. I can handle anything. _

"Seven."

I have my hands covering my head again, but I dont think it does any good. A kick to my back makes me wince. I'm losing energy fast.

"Eight."

_Block it out, Sasuke. Block out the pain and think about something else. Think about Sakura, the girl who stole your heart and ran away with it. _

"Nine."

These guys fight like pros, though. They fight as hard and rough as Itachi and Sai. If Sakura was here, would she care that I was being beaten?

"Ten."

I think it's almost done. I don't know. I'm trying to stay strong but the constant blows and kicks are threateninng to break me down, just like Madara warned. My body has been hit so hard, I thinks one of these guys must either be wearing stee-toe shoes or has been specially trained for kicking. No. I won't let them win. I'm in charge of my destiny, not them.

"Eleven."

_Please _let this be over soon. I feel my body going limp, and I can't hold in my rage any longer.

I don't hear the number twelve. Madara has stopped counting. The bastard is just standing here, prolonging the beaten. The fact that with each blow I'm stepping into the Sharingan and out of Sakura's life forever is too much to take.

Fuck this game Madara's playing. I start swinging, ready to bring down anyone who dares to get near me.

"Shit," I hear someone yell after I punch him.

I bring two more down while some OGs are trying to pin me to the ground. Madara is standing off to the side, enjoyin this. He's got a cocky grin on his face that needs to be wiped off, right now.

I deck two more guys and squirm out of the grasp of the OGs and go after Madara. I want nothing more right now than to unleash my fury on him. He swings at me, but I'm faster. My fist connects with the side of the jaw. He flies back, and I get brief satisfaction while four of the OGs grab my hands and twist them behind my back.

Madara is bleeding our of the side of his mouth. He doesn't bother wiping it off . . . instead he licks it like a bloodsucking vampire. I may npt get out of this alive, but at this point I don't give a shit.

"We have a little miscommunication, boys. You seem to think you're running this show. Maybe you forgot that I'm the boss here. Not you. You think you could replace me?"

"Yeah," I mumble.

He punches me in the gut and I double over, but the guys holding my arms like a damn vise straighten me back up.

"Wrong answer. I'll ask again. You think you could replace me?"

I take a deep breath, force myself to ignore the piercing pain my body is in, and look up. "Yeah," I say.

He punches my face, this time harder-if that was even possible. My head reels in pain.

"Wrong answer. I'll ask again. You think you could replace me?"

I try to open my eyes wider, but I can't. I do the best I can, though, through the haze. "Yeah."

He punches me in the gut again, his black bangs sticks to the side of his face. He might have broken a rib, cause I felt something crack.

"Wrong answer. I'll ask again. You think you could replace me?"

It's done. I lost Sakura. I lost NASA. I lost everyone else. The only thing I have left is my father's legacy as a hardass who never backed down until he was dead and buried. I'll hang on to that for as long as I can.

"Hai."

"Inuzuka, get me an shaver," Madara orders. "And a screwdriver . . . a sharp one."

"Why?" Kiba asks.

"Just do it, you stupid little bastard. If you don't want to end up like this dobe, do it."

Madara's next blow to my head is the last thing I remember before I black out.

When I come to, I'm lying on the cement floor.

"Congratulations.!" Madara says as he crouches beside me. I catch sight of gold rings on his fingers. "You're one of us now."

I just want to lie down right here on the floor and sleep until my body stops screaming out in pain.


	41. Leaving Me Behind

**Chapter 41: Leaving Me Behind**

**Sakura's POV**

Kiba finally answers my call after an hour of me trying to stop nonstop.

"What do you want, bitch?" He asks.

"Where's Sasuke?" I ask him, ignoring his rude comment.

"I dropped him off at home a few minutes ago," Kiba's voice echoes through the reciever. He chuckle, the sound mocking me. "He's in bad shape, but he'll survive. He's one tough mother. Didn't know he had so much fight in him, but Madara brought him to his knees."

My heart slams in my chest. "You could have stopped it."

"You're delusional. Sasuke wanted it . . . he asked for it. Get your head out of your ass and face the fact, Sak. You don't have a hold on him anymore. The Sharingan does."

"Why did you pick the Sharingan over me, Kiba? Tell me the truth."

"You think I wanted to? I had to, I didn't want to drag you into what might've happened if the Sharingan found out that I was like with two gangs feeding inside information, they would be at your door the minute you walk out of the house."

He cared about my safety. I was gonna say something, but I didn't have a chance until he added something. "Also because of money, status, and brotherhood. You and I would've never lasted, and I knew it. You weren't a temporary distraction from my goals.

The truth definitely hurts, but it's a dull ache instead of real pain. I'm over him, over us, over what happened as a result of our relationship.

"I was pregnant the day we broke up," I tell him, then look at the picture of me and Sasuke dancing at Itachi's and Konan's wedding, still up on my wall. Somehow seeing SAsuke's goofy grin as he tried to get me to smile gives me the hope and the strength to get through this conversation. "I've carried guilt about not telling you for over two years. I had a miscarriage, and out breakup-combined with losing our baby-messed me up for a long time.

I stop talking and wait for his reaction. I don't know what I want him to say, or what I expect him to say.

"How do you know the kid was mine?" he says in a cocky tone.

He knew I was his first and he was mine. There was nobody else. His question is so insulting he doesn't deserve an answer.

I hang up on him, then call Hinata. "Sasuke got jumped into the Sharigan tonight," I tell her. "I'm going to his house to make sure he's okay."

"I'm coming with you," she says. I hear Naruto's muffled voice as she tells him what's going on. "Naruto's coming, too. We'll be at your house in five minutes."

"Hurry," I tell her.

I knock on Sasuke's front door, but there's no answer. The door is slightly open, so we walk in.

"Sasuke?" I call out.

No one responds. I go to his room, knowing he's here . . . feeling his presence somewhere in his house.

"I'll check the bedrooms." Naruto say. "You two stay by the front door. If you need to get out of here fast, just go."

Naruto opens the door to Sasuke's bedroom. I squeeze Hinata's arms, scard of what he'll find . . . if anything.

"What the hell happened to you, dude?" Naruto asks.

"Why are you here?" I hear Sasuke answer.

"He's here," I whisper to Hinata.

"Sakura wanted to make sure you were okay," Naruto waves me over. "I'll, uh, be right outside the door if you need anything . . . like a hospital."

I gasp when I see Sasuke sitting on his bed with his back against the wall. His head is resting in his hands. There's blood all over his face. Half of his head is shaved, and his completely bloodied shirt is in shred on the floor.

Miko is sitting beside him, her head on his thigh. She knows he's hurting.

I rush over to him, afraid to touch his face for fear I'll hurt him. "What did they do to you?" I ask sofftly, trying to hold back the flood of emotion threatening to rush out of me. I have to stay strong for Sasuke.

"Go away," he moans.

"I'm not leaving while you look like that," I whisper.

"I don't need you here, and I sure as hell don't _want _you here. We're done, remember? I'm not your charity case."

"Well you look like one right now. Drop the ego and let me help you."

They shaved half of his beautiful signature hair. Did they hold him down, or did he bow his head in submission and willingly have it shaved? Either way, they weren't gentle. He's got cuts all over his scalp.

"They shaved half your head."

I didn't realize it before, but his spiked, chicken ass, boyish hair was a symbol of his innocence and individuality. Now he looks so tough . . . so Sharingan. I lift his chin and urge him to look at me. When he does, I almost suck in a breath. His lips are busted up, his eyes are alf closed because his lids are swollen . . . and he's got red, nasty cuts mixed with bruises all over his face, back, and chest.

When I look into his eyes, they've got an empty hollowness to them. It scares me. Will he change and become like Kiba?

"What part of 'get away from me' don't you understand?" he asks. When he cups his head in his hands, I catch a glimpse of the Sharingan symbol gouged in his bicep.

"You need to go to a hospital," I tell him.

"I can't. They'll ask me what happened." He looks up at me. "I'm bound by a code of silence. You know what I need, Sak? Drugs. Illegal ones. Lots of 'em, actually. And make sure there's enough so I don't come out of it for a while."

"Stop talking stupid." I sit on the bed and take a long, hard look at him. "Here's whats going to happened. You're gonna let me clean you up. After that, you can tell me to leave."

"Didn't you hear? Unless you have pain med, or drugs, I don't want you near me."

"Too bad."

Hinata and Naruto help me wet some paper towels with hydrogen peroxide. I kneel in front of Sasuke and gently place one of the paper towels next to a cut bby his eyebrow.

"What happened to the boy who said he loved me?" I ask.

"He died." He says, roughly.

"I wanted to push you away," I tell him. "It's my defense mechanism."

"Congratulations,Sakura." he says. "You win."

He jerks his head away from me, but I make him face me while I clean off his chin and a nasty cut on his cheek. When I move to clean the wound on his bicep, the angry eye gouged out of his skin that'll leave permanent scars stare back at me.

He holds my wrist with his strong fingers and stills my hand, which is about to wipe off blodd still oozing from the wound. "Don't help me," he says. "I _need _you to go."

"Why? We had a connection, Sasuke. I want to forget it, but I can't."

His haunting eyes stare right through me. "Don't lie to yourself and think what we had was any different than what you had with Kiba."

"I don't believe that," I say, shaking my head. "Maybe we don't have a chance for a future, but I know from the bottom of my heart that what we have goes way deeper than anything I had with Kiba."

"You're wrong." He grabs my fist tighter, stopping me from touching him. "Yo, Naruto.!" he yells.

Naruto sticks his head in the doorway. "Yeah?"

"Get her out of here, before I do something stupid."

Naruto touches my shoulder. "Sak . . . you need to let him go."

The tears that I had tried to hold back, come out and tears stream down my red cheeks. "I can't let him go, NAruto.!" I swallow the basketball-sized lump in my throat and stand up, but walk closer to him. "I _love _you, Sasuke."

Sasuke squeezes his eyes shut. "Naruto . . . get her out.!"

I move toward the door and take a deep, choking breath. I can't get through to him. He's gone to the other side and left me behind.


	42. We're Stil Brothers No Matter What

**Chapter 42: We're Still Brothers No Matter What**

**Sasuke's POV**

Less than an hour after Sakura and company leave my house, I get a surprise visit from Itachi and Sai. Word obviously spread to them that I got jumped in, because they don't look surprised to see me all beat up.

"Go take a shower," Itachi says, tossing me a towel. "You're filthy."

"Don't take too long," Sai says, tapping me on the leg. "Because dinner'll be ready in forty-five minutes."

He picks up Miko, who hasn't left my side.

"I don't want dinner," I tell him. "And give me back my dog."

"You'll want to eat when you find out what I'm making."

I look at my half brothers, I expect them to give me shit, but they don't. They're just . . . . here.

"Your dog is depressed, just like you." Sai says as he set Miko on the floor.

I take a shower and let the hot water wash away the dried blood on my skin, but it won't erase the fact that I'm a full-fledged Sharingan. Or the fact that I pushed Sakura away for good, which hurts way more than Madara gouging a eye into my skin with a screwdriver. I've lost her. It's a good thing, though. I'd just end up disappointing her, and I don't want to hurt her more than I already have.

When I step out of the bathroom, my brothers are sitting at the kitchen table. They're talking quietly, obviously discussing how they're going to deal with me.

When I don't join them, they bring their plates to my room and lean against the wall while they chow down. The smell of pork and spices makes my mouth water, but I don't want to face them right now . . . or eat with them.

"What are you two doing?" I ask.

Itachi and Sai look at each other and shrug. "Eating, bro." Itachi says. "What does it look like we're doing?"

I point to my bedroom door. "We have a kitchen, you know. Go eat in there."

"I'm cool," Sai says, "What about you, Itachi?"

Itachi takes a forkful of ramen with smoked porked one top, which they know is my favorite. "I'm cool, too," he says as he makes a big deal out of shoving the food in his mouth and moaning in pleasure as if he's in smoked pork and ramen heaven.

After dinner, sai lies down on a spare mattress on the floor in my room. "Aren't you staying at the hotel with Ino?" I ask him.

"Not tonight. Or tomorrow. You fucked up that plan up."

"Don't blame me," I tell him. "Go to the hotel if you want to."

When I get my aching bones up to go to the bathroom, I notice Itachi has camped out on the living room couch. "Go home with your wife and kid," I tell him.

"I'm staying here for the week. Mikoto is staying with Konan and Daku, in case you were wondering."

"I don't need you and Sai babysitting me, I'm fine."

Once I get a bunch of Tylenol in me, I'll be fine.

He laughs as he scan my appearance. "Yeah, right. You look fine, bro. Go to bed and let your body start to repair itself."

"When's the lecture coming?" I ask. I'm not stupid enough to think I'm off the hook from Itachi and Sai giving me shit.

"Im not gonna lecture you." Itachi says.

"I'm not either." Sai says.

"You do realize I'm in the Sharingan, right?" I say just to make sure we're all on the same page. "I didn't get mugged today . . . I got jumped in."

"Stating the obvious, bro." Sai says in a bored tone.

Itachi picks up the remote and watches television. They're pretending like they don't care one bit that I'm part of the gang, but I'm not an idiot. They're playing me. But why?

"So you guys are cool with it?" I ask.

"I wouldn't go that far," Itachi says. "But we get it."

"And we're gonna give you time to get out of it." Sai says.

Itachi and Sai both look at me and says, "We understand because we're brothers, and no matter what, we'll always be there and we'll always understand."

I scoff, while I hold my riba and lipm back to my room. "Come on, Miko." I say. My dog bumps her head into the wall and I want to tell her I feel her pain-literally.

"Oh, and by the way," Itachi yells from the living room. "Shikamaru is giving you a week off work."

I slowly lower myself onto my bed, trying to ignore ever ache. I couldn't work even if I wanted to.

"Oh, and one more thing." Itachi calls out. "You're chemistry teacher is coming to tutor you this week while you heal. You go to school looking like that and Jiriya call the cops.

"Please tell me you're joking about Kakashi coming here."

"No joke, bro. He's really looking foward to it," Itachi says.


	43. Not Giving Up On Us

**Chapter 43: Not Giving Up On Us**

**Sakura's POV**

Sasuke hasn't been back to school all week. I called Konan, who told me that Itachi and Sai have been taking care of him. Itachi says he's healing fast. Hinata, Naruto, and Kankuro invited me to play golf at The Orange Club. I don't want to go, but I need to get my mind off of Sasuke.

I can't say how many times I've been tempted to go over to Sasuke's house. Six times I got in my car and started drving, but I always stopped myself before I crossed the railroad track to the south side.

"I'm glas you came," Kankuro says as I set my golf clubs in the golf cart.

I give him a small smile. "Me too."

"Me three," Naruto says, then nudges Hinata.

"Me four," she says, although she's less enthusiastic.

On the eighth hole, while Naruto is couching Hinata on how to do a chip shot to get her ball out of the sand trap, Kankuro sits next to me in the golf cart. "Go to my homecoming with me," he says.

"Was that a question or a statement?" I ask him.

"Considering I don't want you to contemplate saying no, I'd say it was a statement." He puts his arm around me. "You know I've always wanted to date you."

"Liar. You've wanted to add me to your trophey shelf."

"True. So how about it?"

I glance down at his custom golf shoes with shiny gold designs on the top. His intials are engraved in the gold. Sasuke wouldn't be caught dead in them. "I can't go to homecoming with you, Kankuro."

"Is it because of my shoes?"

"No. It's because I'm in love with someone else."

"Does he know about it?"

"Yes. But he doesn't believe me."

When Kiba and I broke up, and I saw him with Karin, I didn't fight for him. I gave up and let the Sharingan win. With Sasuke it's different. I realized that I'm not giving up on us, and I'm going to fight to get him back. I love him deeper than just my heart . . . I love him to the inner parts of my soul as if he's a part of me.

It's about time he knows it.


	44. A Day At The Bank

**Chapter 44: A Day At The Bank**

**Sasuke's POV  
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While Itachi is out and Sai is watching television, I sneak out my bedroom window and with my backpack and head to the bank with the key to the safety-deposit box. I'm sure it's too much to hope I'll be back before they'll realize I'm gone. I have to know what's in the bank, so I can decide what to do. I sneak through back alleys to make sure I'm not followed.

At the bank, I give them my ID and sign a slip of paprer declaring that I'm the owner of the bank. Afterward, I'm directed to a locked vault. The bank employees leave me in the vault while I open the box and examine the contents.

Stacks of hundred-dollar bills stare back at me. I bet there's at least ten or fifteen thousand dollars here. My heart starts racing. I don't look up for fear there's a video camera watching my every move. Seeing this much money makes me nervous. What was it supposed to be used for? Why did Oruchimaru put my name on the box in the first place? I don't know if I'll ever get the answers.

There's also a piece of paper with a bunch of numbers on it and below them the letters CODEOFSILENCE-all caps, no spaces.

Under the money is another piece of paper, embossed and stamped as original-my birth certificate.

Sasuke BurakiSubaku Uchiha. (**Made up)**

I stare at the two last names . . . Mikoto acknowledged Oruchimaru as my father on my birth certificate. She gave me his last name, but never told me. On the bottom of the certificate, where it says father, Oruchimaru Subaku is listed-and the bastard signed the document.

Despite everything, I don't feel like a Subaku. It's not a part of me, and I won't adopt it as my own.

I jot the numbers down on my palm with a pen, fold the birth certificate into my pocket, then put the box back in its slot. Since I laid my eyes on the cash, I've been trying to convince myself to take it-it's mine, isn't it? Mikoto needs it, Itachi needs it . . . it could help Sai and Kiara start their lives together.

But what if it's blood money, or drug money? Shit, I'm a Sharingan with a damn conscience. Not a good combination.

I quickly fill my backpack with the cash, then take the bus to the local library, hoping I'm not being tracked. If Madara knows I've been to the bank, then he knows I've seen what's in the box.

Is he expecting me to just hand over the cash and give him the numbers on the paper? If I don't give them to him, will he kill me? If I do give them to him, what does he need me for, then? Best bet is that I'll be smoked either way.

If Sakura and I were together, she'd be in danger. I'm glad I gave her up, although it's killing me inside.

I can't tell Itachi and Sai what's going down. They're already involved more than they should be. I swear they haven't let me out their sight one bit since they came back home.

If Sai gets involved, and something goes wrong and he gets arrested, he'll most likely be dishonorably dischardged from the army. Itachi could lose scholarship, his family . . . if he's in jail, he'll miss the birth of his second child.

I'll never let either of them get involved. I might be a Subaku, but I still feel like a Uchiha.

I look back an realize that I'm being tailed by a black Camaro. The guy driving looks suspiciously like the baka who opened the door in that house Kiba and I went to into Sound's territory to collect five Gs.

Luckily I know the south side like the back of my hand. I walk toward the police station, which is right behind the library. I walk inside the station lobby and wait while the car passes, then go behind the station and head to the back door of the library.

Once inside, I sign up for an hour of computer use. I Google the set of number I found in the box, but nothing comes up. What would Oruchimaru do with the numbers? Probably not a phone number, but the number starts with double zeros. I deduce that it's either some kind of code, a password, or an account number. A bank accounts, maybe. But what bank? There's probably thousands of banks. How the hell am I supposed to figure out which one? Or maybe it's not a bank account, and the numbers don't mean shit.

It's no use. My hour is up, and I still don't have a clue what the numbers mean. I look behind me and see someone else is waiting to use the computers. Damn, I need more time.

At home, I sneak back in through my window when I catch sight of Asume smoking a cigarette on his back porch. He's shirtless and his back is to me. Plain as day I see s tattoo between his shoulder blades. Sound.

Asuma is a gangbanger posing as a cop? Holy shit. What has he been doing, spying on me like the others? Was this all planned out? Madara said he's been watching me all along, even when I was in Japan. Could Madara secretly be fucking with me?

I'm so fucking confused it feels like my head is about to explode. Not wanting Asuma to know I've seen him, I sneak around to the front of the house. When I walk through the door, Kakashi is sitting at the kitchen table peering at me over his glasses.

"Weren't your wife supposed to give birth already?" I ask him.

"Any day now, I'm on break, so you'll have a break from me for a few months. Don't be so broken up about it."

"I'm not."

"You almost missed our tutoring session," she says, then glances at his watch.

Considering my chances of surviving the next few wekks are slim, he doesn't need to waste his time. "Listen, Kaka, I know my brothers kind of coerced you to be here, but it's a waste of your mine."

"I'm not giving up on you," he says, patting the chair next to me.

"I would."

"I didn't give up on Itachi, and I'm not giving up on you. Itachi had every reason to throw it all away, but he didn't."

Itachi never had the connection to the Sharingan that I do.

"Show me your homework." he orders in a no-nonsense voice.

Before we bet on who's the fastest at math, he pulls his wallet out, opens it, and slips a five-dollar bill out of the top. Attached to one side of his wallet are his checks . . . with a row of numbers at the bottom. The first two numbers are zeros.

"What are those numbers?" I ask him, pointing to the bottom of the check.

"The bank routing number and the banking account number. Why?"

I glance at my palm with the numbers written on it, and adrenaline pumps through my veins. That's it. The bank routing number, and bank account. "No reason. I've never had checks," I tell him.

Kakashi takes ten minutes to explain how checks wors, and even pulls one of his out of his wallet and makes me write on out.

"Sign your name here," he says, pointing to the bottom right corner. "This is a life skill that you shoule know, Sasuke."

"I've got other life skills," I tell him.

"Yeah, well, I don't consider cussing a life skill. Or fighting."

"I do. Necessary ones."

He shakes his head and sighs in frustrated. "I will you this important information about checks." He writes the word VOID in big bold letters on the front of the check he told me to practice on. "Let this be the last time you write on someone else's check. If you do, or forge someone's name on a check, it's a felony. You go to jail. Make good decisions, Sasuke. Focus on math and science and doing well in school. Those will help you. The fight wont." He places my teacher's math homework in front of me. "You ready for the challenge?"

I pick up a pencil. "You're on, Kakashi. But I've got to warn you, I'm a number's guy."

"Good, because so am I. That skill will serve you well in college, and you're up in space."

It's more likely I'll end up in hell before heaven or space."


	45. SU & SH Forever

**Chapter 45: SU & SH Forever**

**Sakura's POV**

I gave Naruto a note to give to Sasuke. He texted me that he delivered it. Now I'm waiting. If he won't come to me, I'm going to him.

I debated what to wear, and now I'm second-guessing myself. What if he doesn't remmeber the dress, the one I wore the night I met him? What if he doesn't remmber what room we were when we first laid eyes on each other?

But the setup doesn't matter. What matters is that Sasuke knows I love him, and I'm not giving up on us trying to make this work.

I know he's a Sharingan now, but if he realizes what we have is stronger than any bond he could have to a gang, everything will work out. I have to believe he really doesn't want to be in the Sharingan and will find a way to get out.

I look at my cell phone. No call from Sasuke, no text, and it's nine o'clock. I told him in the letter to meet me here at nine. Every second that passes makes me nervous that he might not show, but I don't give up hope. Even at nine fifteen when there's no sign of him, I still have faith he'll come. I feel like that movie where the girl is standing on the pitcher's mound, waiting for the guy. When all hope is lost, the hero comes running onto the field and they live happily ever after.

Sasuke is my hero, even if he doesn't know it yet. He'll know tonight . . . if he shows up.

I check my clock again for the hundredth time. Nine thirty.

When I called the private ground where Itachi and Konan got married, the lady on the phone told me to call their management office to inquire about a dqaily rental. To my surprise, Kankuro answered the phone. Ends up his family own the property, and he told me the house would be unoccupied for two days, so I could stay there for free. When I told him he might change his mind about letting me used the place because I was going to be with another guy, all he said was, "Lucky guy. I hope he's worth it."

"He is," I tell him.

At ten, I'm losing hope. I take the key out of my purse, ready to close the place up, when the door opens.

Sasuke is in the doorway. "Hey," he says.

"Hey."

"Naruto gave me your note. Sorry I'm late. There was a little mishap with my dog."

"What happened to Miko?"

"She kind of wandered off, but I found her. Why did you want me to come here?"

"You haven't been at school." I step closer to him. "I missed you."

"You're wearing the same dress you had on when we met."

"You remembered."

"How could I forget. I thought you were an angel from heaven."

"I'm still your angel, Sasuke."

"We can't do this." He looks around the room. "You oushed me away that night at your place . . . You were right."

"No. I was scared, Sasuke. The second I laid eyes on you, I knew you were dangerous . . . because I felt a connection."

"The same you felt with Kiba," he says with a sad tone to his voice.

"No. Very different. Very, very different. You're genuis in chemistry class, Sasuke. Explain the electricity in the room right now. It's flowing between us . . . even you can't control it."

"It's lust."

"I think it's something else. Follow me." I say, then slide past him and head outside to the dance floor.

"You were a shitty dancer back then," he says, watching me as I play music I'd already set up from my portable iPod speakers.

I smile sheepishly. "I'm still a shitty dancer."

"I'm not who I am, or who _I _thought I was.I found out that my father was Oruchimaru, the head of the Sharingan. I'm following in his footsteps.

I'm shocked, but everything makes more sense now. "Why follow in his footsteps."

"Because I have to, Sak. It's my legacy. I was born a Sharingan," he says. "And I'm gonna die one."

"Not tonight, you're not." I take his arms and put them around me as we sway to the music. I wrap his arms around his neck as a slow love song plays in the background. "I love you, Sasuke . . . unconditionally."

"Sak, don't do this." He whispers.

I hold him tighter. "I'm not holding back anymore. Sasuke, tell me you love you too."

"I never stopped loving you, Sakura." I hear him curse under his breath while he shut his eyes tighter together. I wait for about a minute before he opens them again. "But I can't drag you down with me. This can't happen between us, becuase you know I'll have to leave you."

I take his hand and lead him onto the beach, and into one of the many abandoned lifeguard stations. Flickering candles in glass containers surround the cramped space-candles I lit over an hour ago.

He stands against the wall, watching my every move.

"Last times we were alone together I help back," I tell him.

"I know. You didn't trust me, which was a smart move. You said you didn't love me."

"I lied." I run my fingers over the shaved side of his head and he closes his eyes. "You look so tough."

"I don't feel so tough." He opens his eys. They sparkle with every flicker of the candlelight hitting them. He's got beautiful, mesmerizing eyes that pierce my soul. "You shouldn't love me. I don't deserve it."

I hold his face in my hands. "Sasuke, I admire the fact that you know what you want, and go for it even when the odds are stacked against you. You've taught me to be proud of my Japanese heritage. I am in awe of how smart you are, and that you push me away to protect me from the Sharingan. I think it's adorable when you look up at the sky and instead of admiring it you want to go up there and explore it. I love you because you're the only person I want to make love to without any conditions and; I love that you need me."

"I do need you, Sak. But I sill don't deserve you."

Just knowing that he's here with me is enough. "WE deserve each other, Sasuke . . . and I need you just as much as you need me. Hold me."

He steps closer, but hesitates. "If I do, Sakura, I can't promise I'll be able to let you go."

"Good."

He wraps his arms around me and I wrap mine around him. It's silent, except for the sound of our breathing and the gentle waves lapping against the shore. We stay standing, embracing each other, for what seems like forever. This is what it's supposed to be like.

"Want me to list all the reasons I love you?" he asks me. "I wrote a poem about it for English class . . . I called you my forever and always."

Hearing his words makes me smile, and I tell him what I'm feeling deep in my gut. "We're gonna make it."

"The odds are against us, Sak."

"Since when did bad odds stop you from your goal?" I ask, then lift his shirt up and kiss his abs. I follow the line of hair from his navel down until I reach the waistband of his jeans.

"Kiss me," he says, urging me up so we're face-to-face.

We start making out slowly, but as soom as he opens his mouth and his tongue slides against mine, it's no hold barred. Our bodies melt against each other and I feel his hardness through his jeans. I'm not holding back this time. I couldn't even id I wanted to . . . this is too intense.

"Your skin is so damn soft," he says as his hands reach under my dress and he pulls down my panties until I step out of them.

I push him against the wall. "Stay right here. Don't move," I order, then unzip his pants and ease down his boxers.

"Sak . . ." He groans as I touch him all over until I know he's about to lose control.

"Mmm . . . "

"I'm gonna . . . " He can't get out the rest of his sentence.

"Make love to me, Sasuke."

"I want to, baby, but I don't have a condom, I can't risk getting you-"

I put a finger over his beautiful lips**(His lips are like Goon Jung Pyo's from Boys Over Flowers). **It's okay. I'm on the pill now. I'm safe."

"Me too . . . I mean, you know, I don't have any STDs," he says.

"I'm ready then, and I'm not holding back this time. Do you want this as much as I do?"

"More than you know." He kicks off his pants and boxers, then covers the floor with our clothes before he lowers me to the floor. "You really sure you're ready for this?" he asks, his face full of vulnerability and emotion.

I nod.

"I love you, Sakura." he whispers in my ear as we move together as one. "I'll always love you, no matter what happens, okay?" He brushes the hair off my face. His intense, soulful eyes pierce mine as we cling desperately to each other. He stills. "If I die tomorrow, move on. Promise me you'll move one."

Tears sting my eyes. "I won't let you die, Sasuke."

"Promise me, Sak. For me. Come on, if you love me . . . "

_He knows his life is in grave danger. _I can feel his tension, his pain, his sorrow.

I try to hold back tears, but they won't stop. I grab on to his, clutching him to me . . . feeling the love flow between us . . . a favor bond that defies explanation.

Afterward, we lie together and watch the moonlight waves way into the night. I don't want to sleep, but I curl into his warmth and my eyelids grow heavy.

"You can change your destiny, Sasuke." I say before I fall asleep. "If anyone can do it, you can."

I don't wake up until the sun shines through the wooden slats of the roof. Sasuke is writing something in the candle waz on the wall beside me.

It's a heart with initials inside: SU + SH.

"Hey," I say.

He looks at me and smiles. "Hey. You sleep okay?"

"Real good. I like sleeping in your arms."

"Do your parents know you were with me?"

I shake my head. "No."

He sighs heavily. "They don't want you with someone like me. They're right, you know. I'm not innocent, Sakura. And I'm afraid that I'm in too deep to get out." He crouches beside me and gently touches my cheek with his fingers. "God, how I wanted last night to go on forever. But it can't."

"You're talking like this is the end."

"It might be. It involves a lot of money and I'm in the middle of it. People have died for less money."

"I'm not letting you die," I tell him. I'll find some way to help him.

"I wish it was that simple." He squeezes his eyes shut. "I've got to go. I can't stall any longer."

I put on all my clothes and stand up. "I'm going with you, then. We're in this together."

He smiles. "I won't let you. You know that. I'm not putting you in danger. I can't call the cops, I can't tell my brother . . . I'm on my own here."

Tears stream down my face as I reach up and kiss his cheeks, his eyelids, his warm lips. "I have complete faith in you and I love you no matter what. Remember that, okay?"

He nods. "You make me believe in the impossible."

We hold eachother ofr a long time, until he tells me he's got to go. As I watch him drive away, I know what I need to do. He might not think I can help him, but I need to try. I drive over to Kiba's house, hoping it's early enough that he's home.

He answers the door, surprised to see me. "Sakura?"

"I need you to help Sasuke."

"Madara ordered everyone away from the warehouse when he meets Sasuke. That usually means he wants no witnesses. I can't do anything to change it."

I grab his shirt when he starts to close the door on me, I hear Akamaru, his dog, in the background barking. "You can't just sit back and let Sasuke get hurt."

He shrugs out of my hold. "It's not in my hands, Sak."

"So you're not going to help him?"

"I value my life, Sak. If I go against Madara, I'm dead. I'm playing both sides, waiting for someone to go down. If the Sound are standing at the end, I'm with them. If Madara is on top, I'm with Sharingan."

I slap him, while the tears come back. "Please, Kiba. I need you right now, I know deep down that there's still that boy who I fell in love with, I need him right now. Please, Kiba. Sasuke needs you."

He watches me for a minute. "You really love him, don't you?" He asks me.

I nod. "Uncondionally."

He sighs, then looks away from me, over to the side, probably making sure that noone is listening.

I'm losing hope, standing here for about two minutes, when he looks back at me, smirking.

"Fine, let's go."


	46. Not Just A Fairy Tale

**Chapter 46: Not Just A Fairy Tale**

**Sasuke's POV**

Miko hadn't wandered off last night, I was late meeting Sakura because I was over at Naruto's house. After he'd given me the letter from Sakura, I asked him is I could use the Internet at his house. It was a good thing my brothers didn't question me.

Within forty-five minutes, I'd had the naswer I was looking for. The number I'd written on my hand and memorized were the bank routing account number. The bank where Oruchimaru stashed the money is in the Nihiman Mountains(**Made that up)** The second I typed the password CODEOFSILENCE and the amount was displayed on the screen, I almost fell off my chair.

Six million, three hundred thousand. _Dollars. _

I had to refresh the screen a bunch of times to make sure I read it right. And then looked at the name on the account just to make sure I read it right. Sasuke BurakiSubaku Uchiha.

Whether I give Madara the money or refuse to, my life is in danger.

After I left Naruto's house, I went to Sakura. I had no intention of making love to her last night. I went to her hoping to convince her that I'd giver her up for good. I wanted to be an ass, to make it easier for her to move on and forget about me. I was going to tell her I was into Karin, but the lie couldn't come out of my mouth.

Because I love the girl.

This morning I was tempted to ask her to run away with me and never look back. But I can't. I had to leave Sakura. Her mom thinks I'm not good enough. I don't want to prove her right.

I head for the warehouse, ready to face Madara. I may not be the guy Sakura deserves, but I'm sure as hell not the guy Madara wants me to be . . . I'm not Oruchimar and never will be.

I'm Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura had complete faith in me that I could fix this. I'm still skeptical, but I figure my odds are best if I take a chance on trusting the one person who might be the enemy. I pull out my cell and dial the number to Officer Asuma.

"This is Asuma," he answers.

I take a deep breath. "It's Sasuke Uchiha. I know you want to bust Madara, and I can help you. Before I do, I need to know if you want to ruin him because you're a cop, or because you're a Sound."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asks. The tension in his voice carries through the line.

"Asuma, I know Mikoto trusts you. But I sound your sound tattoos, and I have to know if you're playing us. Are you just a cop as a cover, so you can provide insider info to your crew?"

"Sasuke, I'm not hiding anything from anyone. I used to be an Sound back in high school. I was in so fucking deep." He pauses, his voice flooded with anger. "Until my bestfriend and girlfriend got killed by a crackhead in a dirty alley in the city in a drug deal that went bad. His life was worth so much more than the payday the gang scored. That day I promised myself I'd find a way out . . . and when I did, I became a cop so I could stop other kids from making the same mistakes me and my friends did. I've tried to bring Madara down, but he knows how to cover his tracks. Come to the statiion and you can tell me what you know."

I can't be sure if he's telling em the truth, but my gut tells me to trust the guy. His story hit close to home. "I can't come to the station, cause something's going down right now." I tell him. Just tape the conversation I'm about to have and you'll get all the dirt to put him away for a long time."

"Don't do anything stupid," Asuma starts to say, but I turn off the sound and stick the phone in my back pocket.

I've got a duffel full of cash. Nobody is guarding the warehouse door, so I walk right in.

"It's about time," Madara says. "I was waiting for you. You managed to ditch my boys last night. Where were you?"

"If I thought that was any of your business, I wouldn't have ditched them." The last thing I'd do is let Madara or Kiba know I was with Sakura. The Sharingan and Sakura are two seperate parts of my life, and i'll do everything in my power to keep it that way.

"You're a wiseass," Madara says. "And you haven't proven that you can be trusted." He nods to the duffel. "Or have you?"

I toss the duffel to him. Just as he unzip the top and dig inside, my brother barge into the room like a SWAT team.

Itachi and Sai are both here, ready to fight. Not a good idea. I've got this all figured out, and having them here is screwing everything up. If we get busted, or bullets go flying, I need my brothers out of here.

"Well, well . . . it's a Uchiha family reunion." Madara says. "Nice of you to join us."

No, it wasn't. What the hell is going on? How did they know I'd be here, unless Asuma tipped them off? I turn to my brothers and say, "Itachi, get the fuck out of here . . . and take Sai with you. I don't need you guys here."

Sai limps inside the room until he's standing next to me. "What, you think we were gonna let you meet with Madara on your own? No way."

Shit. "This is not how this was supposed to go down."

Madara pulls out a gun and points it to Itachi. "Maybe it was," he says, unfazed. "This is my lucky day. I get to kill the entire Uchiha family."

"You forget that I have millions that I can turn over to the cops, or give to you," I tell him.

"I know," Madara says. "That's why I'll kill you last, while you're wathing your brothers die. Or you an save yourself and give me the info I need. I'm God in California. You don't believe me, just ask your cousin Shikamaru . . . Oh, yeah, you can't. I smoked him this morning when he wouldn't tell me where you were. Loyalty, guys. You're not loyal, you die. Period. Loyalty to the Sharingan omes before loyalty to family."

No. Not Shikamaru. My stomach lurches.

With his free hand, Madara pulls up a picture on his phone . . . of Shikamaru lying on the floor of his body shop with blood pooled around his head.

"Shikamaru didn't know where I was.!" I yell. "He was the most loyal Sharingan you'd ever have, you baka.!"

Itachi pulls out a gun and points it at Madara. "Put the gun down or I'll kill you."

Madara laughs. "You wouldn't Itachi. I know you. You haven't got it in you to kill someone. Besides, I've got a bitch named Sakura who's begging for her life right about now."

What.! I feel like he just punched me in the gut and the wind got knocked out of me. He could have stabbed me iwth a knife and it would hurt less. "You hurt Sakura and I swear I'll kill you with my own hands," I growl.

Madara shurgs. "Put the gun down, Itachi, of Sasuke's little girlfriend has a tragic accident. If I don't call my guys and let them know I've secured the money, she'll find herself in the Des Plaines river . . . tied to a big rock that sinks all the way to the bottom."

Itachi slowly puts the gun dow and kicks it over to him.

Madara looks to Sai. "You might as well give up yours, too."

A very pissed-off Sai takes his gun from beneath his shirt and tosses it onto Madara's desk.

"And what about yours" Madara asks me. "The one I gave you."

"I left it at home." I tell him.

"Prove it. Lift up your shirt and turn around real slow." After I do, he says. "Time to give me the numbers."

"Let my brothers go," I tell him. "This is between you and me."

"No," Madara says. "This is between me and all of you. You're in this together as far as I'm concerned."

This is not happening. Despite all I've risked to keep them safe, I've managed to jeopardize my brother's lives ad Sakura's. "If I give you the codes, you have to promise to let my brothers and Sakura go."

"I was bluffig about Sakura." Madara laughs. "I guess I should play more poker, huh? The first lesson in battle is knowing the weakness of your enemies. Sakura is your weakness, Sasuke. You shouldn't have spilled the truth about how much you cared about the girl. I'll give you a hint . . . he's not really your friend. He got close to you because I told him to."

"I know _your _weakess." I tell him.

"What's that?"

"Power. You want it, I have the source to it right here. You hurt my brothers, you'll ever see another cent."

Madara holds the gun points it at Itachi. "I'm gonna call your bluff."

I hold my breath as Itachi holds his hand out, stopping me and Sai from running in front of him. He knows we'll do it, we'll take a bullet and die for him.

Itachi stands straight and tall, staring into the barrel of Madara's gun.

A shot rings out. Shit. No! But wait ,Itachi is still standing. Even he looks surprised as he stares at Madara with a red stain on his shirt that's growing bigger and bigger. Madara was shot and clutches his shoulder as he collapses.

I look to SAi sure he had another gun stashed in his pants. But he's just looking at Madara, stunned. He doesn't have a gun in his hand. I look behind me. The shooter is standing in the doorway, the smoking gun shaking in her hand.

Sakura.

She drops the gun, and falls to her knees. She's hyperventilating as I pull her into my arms. "I couldn't let him hurt you . . . I had to . . . " she cries out.

"He's still alive." Itachi says swiping the gun away from Madara's hands. I hear police sirens and pulls Sakura close, telling her it'll be okay even though I'm shaking as hard as she is.

Asuma barges in, with his gun at the ready. The guy is sweating and breathes a sigh of relief as he eyes the scene. A few other officers surround Madara and call for an ambulance.

"Shit, Sasuke. What the hell were you thinking?" Asuma yells after they stabilize Madara and take him away on a stretcher. "You all could have been killed." He points aggressively at Itachi. "I told you to give me the address to thisplace, then stay put. What the fuck are you doing here?"

Itachi shrugs. "Listen, Asuma once we realized what was going down, we weren't about to let our brother face Madara on his own."

"He's our blood," Sai explains, then pats me on the back. "The kind that matters."

"We need to find out if Shikamaru's okay," I say. "What if he . . ."

"I already sent a squad car to check out Shikamaru's Auto Body," Asuma says. He hesitates. "It's not good news."

I squeeze my eyes shut, wondering when the violence will ever stop. Sometimes I thkn Kasuki is right, that the fantasy world is better because reality sucks . . . but then I look at Sakura and I believe we can beat the odds.

Asuma makes us all go down to the police station to give our statements, and we're released to our parents after the district attorney is called in to listen to the taped phone conversation. No charges are filed against us, and the money in the duffel and the offshore account are handed over to the police. Sakura explained that Kiba had helped her get a gun . . . when they were together he'd shown her the place by the railroad where the Sharingan has their guns. Kiba had told Sakura that he was there when Shikamaru died and he knew what Madara had planned at the warehouse. He was called into the station and charged as an accessory to murder. But before that, he told me and Sakura that he was sorry, and he was actually crying.

"You're shaking," I tell Sakura as I hold her two weeks later. We're sitting on the couch in her living room while her mother periodically checks in on us. She's not thrilled we're sill together, but she's warming up to the idea slowly. Kasuki told us that we've inspired a new game he's working on . . . with us as the main characters.

"I'm so galas you're here," Sakura says, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing tight. "I have a secret that I haven't told you." She looks up at me, her expressive emerald eyes a window to her Japanese soul. I couldn't look away even if I wanted to. "I applied to GHU a week ago."

"Really?" I ask, smiling for the first time since I left her on the beach.

"Yeah. Who else besides me is going to keep you out of trouble?"

This girl is my angel, my cherry blossom, my everything. From the first moment I laud eyes on her I remember thinking that God sent her down to earth just for me. She believed in me when I didn't even believe in myself. "Sak, I love you."

"I know." She says, then taps her heart with her fingers. " I feel it in here. I don't need the words to prove what you've already showed me. I'd do it all over, you know. The good and bad . . . it was all worth it."

"I'd do it all over, too . . . but if that ever happens, hold back from kneeing me in the nuts. I'm sure our future children will appreciate it."

She leans away from me and her eyebrows shoot up. "Our future children? Sasuke, don't get ahead of yourself."

"Why not?" I ask her. "Doesn't the thought of marrying me give you an adrenaline rush?"

"Yeah," she says, kissing me. "Yeah, it does. You once told me that I make you believe in the impossible. You make me believe in love, which is something I'd given up on. Thank you for proving to me it's not just a fairy tale."


	47. Wouldn't Bet Against Us

**Chapter 47: Wouldn't Bet Against Us**

**Sakura's POV**

Seven months after the shooting, three weeks until we graduate, I look at Sasuke across our chemistry table. Naruto is talking to him but he's not listening. I know this beause he just gave me a wink and smile combo that reminds me of the first time we ever met. I knew the boy was cocky.

What I didn't know is that I'd fall in love with him.

"Sakura are you paying attention" Kakashi, now the father of a little girl named Rni, says as he waves a hand in front of my eyes

"To what"

Sasuke laughs.

"What's so funny, Mr. Uchiha, We're workig with acid. Paying attetion is crucial. Please keep your realationship out of my classroom."

"Sorry, Kakashi." Sasuke mumbles as he focuses on the task at hand. Karin and I take a beaker ad follow the intructions. " I can't believe you two are still together," she grumbles. "It's not gonna last,you know."

"I wouldn't bet against us, if I were you." I tell her as I take a dropper and put a small drop of acid on a piece of paper and examine what happens.

I feel Sasuke's eyes on me, so I look up. He licks his lips suggestively. I would roll my eyes, but instead decide to give him a wink and smile back and lick my own lips to throw him off balance.

"Dude.!" Naruto yells. "You just spilled acid on your arm.!"

My eyes go wide as Sasuke sucks in a breath, then curses in Japanese as he rushes to the emergency shower in the back of the classroom. I run after him in panic.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

He's under the shower, rinsing the acid off. "O'onnoka, you distracted me."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to."

He smiles weakly. "Yeah, you did. I'll be fine."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "I could never forgive myself if you were permanentely scarred."

Kakashi appears beside me. "Do I need to call an ambulance?" he asks, examining his arm and the red puffiness forming where the acid touched my skin.

"No." Sasuke says. "I'm okay. It was just a drop."

"I'm banning you from this experiment and instead assigning you a twenty-five page paper on acid." He points to me. "You too, young lady. And I'm changing your seat so you two are not facing each other. When are you two going to stop getting in trouble? Soon, I hope."

He storms out of the room.

"Come here," Sasuke says, motioning for me to join him under the spray of the shower.

I step under the showerhead and in seconds I'm as soaked as he is. My pink hair sticks to my face and my white tank top sticks to my face. I catch Sasuke admiring me. I wave him away. "What if Kakashi comes back here and catches us?" I ask as he bends his head down to kiss me. "You know about his zero tolerance policy. It's in the school policy manual, you know."

He kisses me while the water sprays us. "I've got insider knowledge about that zero tolerance policy," he says against my lips.

"What is it?" I whisper as I hear the final bell ring.

"He's bluffing," he says. "He wants all of us to graduate."

I'm about to ask him where he got this insider knowledge when Kakashi appears in the doorway. "Are you two _still _in here?" he asks, rolling his eyes at the sight of us. He cocks an eyebrow. "You are seriously testing my patience. Sasuke, dry off with that towel on the rack and go to the nurse's office to have your arm checked out. Sakura . . . " She sighs. "What are you doing in here with him?"

"That's a really good question." I say.

"She was helping me." Sasuke says.

"With what?" Kakashi asks impatiently, then puts a hand up. "On second thought, don't answer that." He shakes a finger at Sasuke. "You Uchiha boys are nothing but a pain in my rear. If you and your brothers ever have more children, make sure they go to another school."

"Not likely, this school is home so is California." Sasuke tells him with a cocky grin. "And the best place to raise a family. I wouldn't be surprised if all of our kids went to California High. Admit it, Kakashi. You know you'd love that."

"Yes, but . . ." Kaksashi look up at the ceiling and put his palms together as if he's praying.

"No need to stress it over, now." Sasuke tells him. "You've got about sixteen years before you'll get my nephew, Daku, in your class."

"What are the chances he'll be more interested in my chemistry class than in girls?" he responds.

"Slim to none." Sasuke answers as he puts his arm around me. "He's a Uchiha, after all."

**10 years later . . .**

**MY POV.! :)**

Sasuke and Sakura wasn't prepared when the fertility doctor broke the news that Sakura was pregnant with triplets. They were even more shocked when they found out that they were having three boys. Life has been eventful for them over the last 9 years, who are distinctly different from one another.

Their son Shikamaru is so wrapped up in playing the violin, cloud watching and wanting to be the youngest member of the California Symphony Orchestra that he doesn't have time to get in trouble. Then there's Riko, who is just like his uncle Kasuki. Riko is a gamer and an avid reader, preferring to live out his adventures in fantasy worlds created by designers.

Sauske and Sakura's biggest challenge right now is Sasuke, Jr; or Junior, as everyone calls him. He is competitive and hot-tempered, which reminds Sasuke of Sai. Junior is a charismatic and good-looking kid, he has black hair that falls just below his shoulders and green eyes, which he covers behind his bangs. When he walks into a room, heads turns-reminding Sasuke of Itachi. Unfortunately, Junior is also too smart and cocky for his own good, which reminds Sasuke of himself at eighteen.

Sakura and Ino and Konan have grown close, really close. Mikoto and Asuma got married, three years ago and everything is normal again. Hinata and Naruto got married and had two children. Kakashi is about 44 now and is still teaching at California High. Kiba got out 5 years ago and now is living a healthy life, with a wife and three kids. Karin? Well Karin died.


	48. Not A Happy Ending After All

**Chapter 48: Not A Happy Ending After All (Extra Chapter And Also Short)**

_**About 10 years ago . . . **_

"Where's Madara?" Asked Pein frantically as he rushes into the emergency room, surprisingly there wasn't any cops around. Not that they would recongize him, he's in diguise.

"He's recovering well, you may see him." One of the nurses answers him. He nods a thanks with a new set of determination in his eyes and walks inside the room, he does a double take when he sees Madara sitting on the bed, reading a book.

"Madara." He calls. Madara looks up.

"Oh, Nagato. Finally you came. I have to talk to you. I have one last task for you." He says, quietly. He looks around.

"Sasuke and Sakura and the whole Uchiha family got away this time, but I need you to do this while I'm in the slammer." He pauses. "There's a reason why I kept you in the dark, Nagato. And that's because everyone won't believe when they see that the killings still keep going on, even when I'm supposed to be in jail and the Sharingan dead. Following so far?" Pein, or Nagato, nods. "Good." He leans back and sighs heavenly.

"I need you to kill Sakura, Sasuke, Itachi, Mikoto, Asuma, Konan, Sai, Ino, Daku and every single Uchiha until there's nothing left. Understand?" Madara asks him. Pein takes a while to let things register inside. Finally, he nods.

"Okay, Mr. You have to leave now." A nurse says behind him, Nagato turns around with a new sparkle in his eyes. Revenge. And with that he leaves, walking away from his brother. Forever.

_**Present time . . . (With Sakura and Sasuke's children are alive)**_

"Do you have the information I asked for?" Nagato asks, when he hears the door open. He is sitting in a chair facing the window, looking out in the distance.

"No, something better." The person says. Nagato turns around and points a gun at the person.

"If it's nothing on the Uchiha's then get the hell out." He says.

The person throws a folder on the desk. Nagato, still holding the weapon, looks down at it. "What the hell is this?"

"Open it."

And so he does. When he opens it, it is a picture that has three boys in it. One with sandy brown hair and black eyes, smiling in the picture, next to him is a boy with onyx, spiky hair and blue eyes holding a peace sign up in the picture. The last one, intrigues Pein, it is a boy with short shoulder-length hair black hair and green sparkling eyes, he is glaring at the camera, with arms folded. Pein looks up. "And this is?" He ponders.

"The Uchiha family." The person says as he leaves.

Pein, still looking at the picture, dials a number on his phone. It answers on the second ring. "Yes?"

"I have people you need to kill." And with that he hangs up. He picks up his gun and shoots it at the wall, aiming perfectely at a picture of Sasuke and Sakura. The bullet hits Sasuke right in his heart.

**Well that's a wrap. Thanks everyone for the reviews. I love yall.! Mwuah.! Just if yall are confused; this is when Sakura shot Madara; and now he's in the hospital before the police took him away. Anyway, don't really like this chapter. I think I'm gonna write the story of Sai and Itachi and how they met Ino and Konan, tell me what you think. Please review.! OHH.! I'm also writing a new story named 'The Legendary Five'.! Read that one.! Writing it now.! **

**LOVE YALL 3**

**SASUKE'SONEINAMILLION**


	49. Author's Note

**Chapter 49: Author's Note**

**Okay, you guys there has been some confusion with the last chapter; I'm sorry for not clearing it up.**

**At the beginning of chapter 48; it was when Madara was in the hospital after Sakura shot him in chapter 46; when he told pein to avenge him or something. Then it was 10 years laterr when Sasuke and Sakura already have their kids and stuff when Pein spy gets information on Sasuke and Sakura's three kids; Jr., Shikamaru, and Riko. Pein is intrigued by Jr, because he looks just like Sasuke and stuff. So the story ends with Pein shooting Sasuke in the heart IN THE PICTURE on his wall. Why he have a picture of them, i don't know. But it's like the ending in the movie KickAss.! **


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